Inside Ag April 2017

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Inside Ag

EXTENSION RESEARCH GOES TO SEED

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It’s not just the seed variety but how it’s planted that can influence yields and profitability. North Dakota State University’s North Central Research Extension Center, Minot, is experimenting with seeding techniques to help area producers determine when changing things up might be beneficial for their operations. Singulation, or the planting of individual seeds, is the latest technology the research center is following, said Eric Eriksmoen, research agronomist at the center. Traditional seeding involves spilling seeds at a controlled rate out of a box. With the new technology, a vacuum pulls seeds through a plate with holes and drops those individual seeds into the soil. “It gives us a more uniform placement of seeds. We are starting to understand now when a seed or seedling comes out of the ground, it senses its neighbors,” Eriksmoen said. Many plants can tell if a nearby plant is a weed or another of its kind, and they react negatively to that presence, he said. “Canola is one of those plants. It needs to have its own space. If it’s too close to another canola plant, one of them will die or multiple plants will die,” he said. In studying the literature and examining canola in the field, it’s been discovered only about half of seeds planted survive. “That’s a big deal because farmers are paying $60 to $70 an acre for seed. If you are only getting half of that to survive, you are essentially losing $30 to $35 an acre,” Eriksmoen said. Singulation already exists in planting crops such as peanuts. In southern states such as Georgia and Florida, producers are adapting that technology to their winter canola. The manufacture and cost of equipment for northern crops has slowed adoption. The four-row seeder used at the research center was custom built from existing equipment. “Part of the research is to understand what the plants are thinking, what the plants are comfortable with,” Eriksmoen said. “That’s part of what we don’t totally understand. We also know that soybeans like to have

MINOT DAILY NEWS

APRIL 2017

New seeding techniques may increase farm profitability By JILL SCHRAMM • Senior Staff Writer • jschramm@minotdailynews.com

Submitted Photo

Strips are tilled for row crop seeding at North Central Research Extension Center. A new planting technique, strip tilling is designed to warm soil while preserving moisture. neighbors. Other soybean plants they feel comfortable with, but if it’s a weed in there, they don’t feel comfortable with the weed.” Chad Anderson, seed production specialist at the center, said the research is driven by the types of questions producers are asking. Inquiries have caused researchers to look more closely at singulation, row spacing, plant spacing and tilling techniques. For instance, corn is generally planted in rows 30 inches apart. Research is investigating the results with twin rows, which consist of two row strips planted together with staggered plants. Each two-row strip then is planted 30 inches apart. Researchers want to know if the technique will enable more corn to share a particular space without negatively affecting the crop’s growth.

“It works with peanuts. There’s a fair amount of work being done on corn, and we have used it on corn. I like it on corn,” Eriksmoen said. “We have tried some of it with canola. It didn’t seem to be a crop that responded, but it was one year. We really need to look at it a little more.” Another technique being studied is strip tilling. Crops that can handle cooler weather, such as canola, do well in no-till situations, where residue holds soil moisture but keeps soil cooler. Corn needs warmth to germinate and grow, yet also needs moisture. The solution being tested is to till just a strip where the seeds will be placed, leaving the area between rows with residue. Tilling can be done in the fall and fertilizers placed in the tilled row.

Strip tilling is used in various parts of the country, particularly in the corn belt. Some producers in central North Dakota also are trying it, Anderson said. Again, it’s the cost of equipment, labor and fuel that farmers need to pencil out before they decide to jump in, Eriksmoen said. However, he added, “I think it holds some promise for us up here.” Another hot topic when it comes to seeding is whether to plant a cover crop. In western North Dakota, where the weather is hotter and drier, Eriksmoen said, there is some reluctance to use cover crops because they consume moisture. Producers who use cover crops like them for their ability to build soil and organic matter and bring nitrogen to the surface. Cattle grazing can be an added bene-

fit for livestock producers. Anderson said some farmers are having aerial applicators seed over a small-grain crop a few weeks before harvest. The tiny seeds of radish, turnip or millet populate well in those fields. Like any new techniques or technologies, producers want to know exactly what the gains are with cover crops before they commit themselves. That’s where the research comes in. “We need to quantify it. Up to this point in time, we really haven’t quantified what those cover crops are doing. Are we getting a yield benefit? If you are, what is that yield benefit? Are you truly improving organic matter? If you are, what is it?” While the research center examines planting options, private companies are looking into seed technologies to develop better, more drought-resistant or high-yielding varieties. Eriksmoen said he expects in the next three years to see hybrid spring wheat – something that has been talked about for 30 years. That could make yields of 80 to 100 bushels an acre common, versus current typical yields of 50 to 60 bushels, he said. Because hybrids don’t reproduce from their own seed, it means going back to the supplier each year, and seed costs typically are higher. But hybrids already are commonly used with crops such as corn. The research center continues its work with carinata, an oil-seed crop being researched for fuel, and with faba beans. Faba beans, raised for centuries in different parts of the world, are new to North Dakota. Often used as livestock feed, research is ongoing on how much of the highprotein bean can be used in animal feed rations. Meanwhile, there is interest in faba beans as a food ingredient because of its high protein content, both for human and pet consumption. The limited market demand currently is discouraging much planting of the crop. Researchers at North Central are investigating the best growing conditions and the type of chemicals that can be used safely and effectively with the beans.

Ag Commissioner leads ND companies to Philippines Inside Ag

MINOT DAILY NEWS

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FARGO – Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring led seven North Dakota food companies to the Philippines in March with the goal of increasing North Dakota’s market share of commodities within the Philippine market. The trade mission introduced Filipino food buyers to the taste and health benefits of North Dakota specialty crops and soybeans. Meetings and events were held March 20-23 with the mission culminating at the inaugural North Dakota-Philippines “Better for You Food Ingredients” Conference and Exhibition. The North Dakota Trade Office partnered with the North Dakota Department of Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agriculture Service Manila Office, the Northern Crops Institute, North Dakota Soybean Council and the U.S. Soybean Export Council to make the trade mission a success. North Dakota companies were separated into two tracks – specialty crops and soybeans – with meetings and events organized for each. Trade mission events began Monday in Manila with USDA FAS market briefings, tours of local supermarkets and one-on-one meetings. Tuesday was spent meeting

with Filipino food buyers, touring food processing facilities and meeting United States Embassy officials, including U.S. ambassador to the Republic of the Philippines, Sung Y. Kim. On Agriculture Wednesday North Dakota soybean Commissioner exporters traveled Doug Goehring to the Asia Grain Transportation Conference in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, while North Dakota specialty crop exporters continued to meet buyers in the Philippines. Additionally, Goehring met with Undersecretary Barba from the Philippines Department of Trade and Industry, and Undersecretary Serrano from the Philippines Department of Agriculture to look at ways in which to partner with North Dakota, as well as how to deal with any regulatory issues. The trade mission’s busy schedule

was capped off with the inaugural North Dakota-Philippines “Better for You Food Ingredients” Conference and Exhibition in Manila on March 23. The conference and exhibition drew about 100 attendees from various Philippine food industries such as traders, importers, food manufacturers, R&D specialists and food scientists. “The Philippines is a youthful, growing, English-speaking population with close ties to the U.S.,” said Goehring. “They’re interested in the high nutritional value, specifically the protein content, of North Dakota’s specialty crop products. Their middle class is quickly growing and pursuing foods with the health benefits that our commodities offer.” During the conference, NCI food scientist Natsuki Fujiwara presented an educational program on the many uses for North Dakota’s crops. Fujiwara focused on pulses, pulse ingredients, pulse nutrition and product trends for an audience of Filipino food buyers and processors. Following the educational program, a professional Filipino chef carried out live preparation of Filipino recipes using North Dakota ingredients. The exhibition portion gave North

APRIL 2017

Dakota specialty crop companies further opportunities to show their highquality products to potential buyers with table-top exhibits and one-on-one meetings. This was the third North Dakota trade mission to the Philippines. NDTO led missions to the market in 2012 and 2014. A North Dakota-Philippines reverse trade mission was held in 2007. Trade mission participants were able to receive reimbursement for approved travel expenses through the NDTO’s Specialty Crop Program, a reimbursement program authorized by the North Dakota Department of Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program through the USDA. The NDTO’s Specialty Crop Program provides funding to eligible business concerns to increase global market visibility and competitiveness of the North Dakota specialty crop sector. The North Dakota Trade Office is a membership-based, private/public partnership that provides education, research, advocacy, organization, and leadership so that NDTO members and North Dakota companies can increase exports and grow their international business.

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CHS-SUNPRAIRIE:

Inside Ag

Upgrades are constant for evolving ag cooperative

MINOT DAILY NEWS

APRIL 2017

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By JILL SCHRAMM • Senior Staff Writer • jschramm@minotdailynews.com

Bigger, fewer and faster is how CHS SunPrairie manager Brad Haugeberg describes the changes occurring in agriculture. CHS SunPrairie has seen consolidation in the grain industry, and now with a network that extends from Bottineau to Garrison, the emphasis is on stepping up the pace to move at the speed of agriculture today. “One of the things that has changed a lot about farming is the velocity and how we do business with our growers. They go faster. We have to go faster,” Haugeberg said. He recalls the days when farmers would stand and chat with the elevator staff while leisurely waiting for grain to unload off the single-axle farm truck. “Nobody was in an hurry,” Haugeberg said, contrasting with today’s semi-trucks that unload in minutes and are on their way. “Today, they want to be in and out about as fast as they can,” he said. “We have to find ways to deliver and receive at a faster pace. We are loading 100- to 110-car trains in a matter of hours. Everybody is about velocity.” At the same time as farmers are needing their grain terminals to offer efficiency and speed, CHS SunPrairie is seeing some of its aging facilities reach the point where they can no longer keep up. In recent years, an upgrade to the Bowbells plant and new storage at the Minot facility have boosted the cooperative’s infrastructure. CHS SunPrairie currently is building a new grain facility about two miles from Lansford that is expected to open in the

Jill Schramm/MDN

CHS-SunPrairie general manager Brad Haugeberg comments on a photo held by operations manager Larry Aberle, showing the cooperative’s first 52-car train of spring wheat to the Pacific Northwest, loaded in Minot in December 1980 after passage of the Staggers Act deregulated railroads. At left is multi-commodity and project manager Jeremy Burkhart and at right, Jeff Heil, seed division manager with Dakota Agronomy Partners. spring of 2018. Most of the track is in and concrete work will be done this spring, said Jeremy Burkhart, multi-commodity and project manager at CHS SunPrairie. The site will have a 120-car loop track and provide 900,000 bushels of storage. “It fills a void in our trade

area,” Burkhart said. “Those farmers up there have to haul almost 30-40 miles one way. This fills in a gap or a hole for them for market access.” Haugeberg said the Lansford facility will take wheat, beans and corn, which are grown on 70 percent of the acres in that area. The Mohall

facility no longer would be used for those commodities but will continue to take other crops. Geography is a consideration in rationalizing where to spend resources, Haugeberg said. In many cases, towns have grown around grain elevators, and the trend is to build

new facilities away from town so traffic, noise and air quality don’t become concerns, he said. Along with building facilities suited to modern agriculture, grain elevators must comply with regulatory rules from various federal agencies and keep up with the latest

technology. Joystick controls on car-loading equipment and scanners that read bar codes on rail cars and feed information to equipment are among the technological advances. Burkhart said not only is grain handling faster but so is market knowledge. TransacSee CHS — Page 8

Inside Ag MINOT DAILY NEWS

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CHS Continued from Page 7

tions that used to go through a grain broker now are made instantly over the internet. By the time elevator merchandizers would pick up the phone and get their transactions on the trading floor, the price could change 10 cents, he said. Now merchandizers can sit at their desks and see markets trading instantly on a computer screen. It also is a different era from the days when towns used to have several elevators, farm numbers were plentiful and grain was harvested with threshing machines. Looking back at early minutes of the cooperative, the big issue at the annual pre-planting planning meeting was how much twine to order to accom-

modate the crop that would need to be shocked, Haugeberg said. Now spring planning meetings focus on how many railcars to order for the different crops. CHS SunPrairie traces its roots to Minot Farmers Cooperative Elevator, founded in August 1915. It became Farmers Union Elevator of Minot in 1952. In 1997, the Farmers Union Elevator of Minot merged with Harvest States Cooperatives and formed a new regional division called SunPrairie Grain, now CHS SunPrairie. Harvest States Cooperatives and Cenex merged in 1998 to form Cenex Harvest States Cooperatives, now known as CHS. In the mid- to late fifties, smaller elevators began seeing financial strain. In 1956, the Wolseth elevator merged with Farmers Union Elevator of

Minot. It was the first of several mergers and later acquisitions that continued into the 1990s. Throughout the years there have been 29 elevator locations under the cooperative’s name. Today, with fewer producers in the field, there are 10 elevator locations in eight towns, a feed facility, an agronomy center and a sunflower bagging facility that together employ about 150 people. Consolidations don’t mean there’s not competition in the industry, though. The need to continually become better hasn’t diminished despite the streamlined, tech-savvy, faster operation that already exists. “We are going to have to keep making improvements on those facilities,” Haugeberg said. “I don’t see the pace slowing down. We are just going to have to continue to do upgrades.”

APRIL 2017

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Inside Ag

Farm Rescue nonprofit expanding into Nebraska, its 6th state

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BISMARCK (AP) — A Plains farm aid nonprofit that has steadily grown since being launched in North Dakota a dozen years ago is expanding into a sixth state. Farm Rescue will provide haying and hayhauling help, free of charge, to farmers in need in Nebraska this year. It has already provided assistance with crop planting, harvesting and hay for more than 400 farm families in the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota and Iowa since 2005. Farm Rescue doesn’t dole out cash — it has about 1,100 volunteers from around the country who do the actual physical work for farmers who have suffered a major injury, illness or natural disaster. The nonprofit relies on business sponsors and donations, and its annual budget has grown from a shoestring to about $900,000. This year, there is enough support in Nebraska to add the haying services, said founder

MINOT DAILY NEWS

and President Bill Gross, a North Dakota farm boy who flies a cargo plane for a living but stays tied to his rural roots. “We wanted to start with haying and get our name known in Nebraska,” he said. “Hopefully with our good work we’ll be able to garner more support from foundations, businesses and individuals (in the state) so we can offer more services.” Farm Rescue’s next geographic jump is dependent on the continued growth of the organization’s budget and volunteer base, and isn’t likely for at least another year or two. Gross also would first like to see the nonprofit expand its services to include livestock assistance for ranchers, even in the winter months. “A year-round operation is what we’re looking into,” he said. Farm Rescue is currently taking applications for spring assistance in all of the states in which it works.

APRIL 2017 In this Sept. 27, 2012 file photo, Jim Whitman, with the nonprofit organization Farm Rescue that helps farmers in need, drives a combine in a cornfield at a farm near Wyndmere, N.D. The organization is expanding into its sixth state. Farm Rescue will provide free haying and hay-hauling help to Nebraska farmers in need this year, as it continues providing services to farmers in both Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota and Iowa. AP Photo

Inside Ag

AGRONOMY CHANGES

APRIL 2017

By KIM FUNDINGSLAND

MINOT DAILY NEWS

that can help with decisions such as crop rotation, fertilizer applicaStaff Writer kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com tion and more. “There’s a huge need for profesBERTHOLD – Farming methods sional agronomists. Farmers don’t have been changing with leaps and know what they don’t know,” said bounds. Today’s modern farming Peterson. “Crop consultants that enterprises center around technol- work under me are kind of unique. ogy that didn’t exist a few years ago. They can help with fertilizer, That’s where the work of experi- chemicals, seed and crop protecenced agronomists prove excep- tion of products that a farmer tionally valuable. needs.” “I think the biggest thing is that Today’s informed agronomists farmers have become way more can be a farmer’s best friend. They technical,” said Ryan Peterson, re- offer experienced advice on a varisearch director for Vision Research ety of farming needs and choices. in Berthold. “Farming has probably Many conduct “crop scouts,” changed more in the last 10 years searching the fields for places than in the previous 30 or 40.” where their assistance can pay Peterson says North Dakota valuable dividends for the profarmers are good at what they do ducer. but not all have been able to keep “Basically we give farmers any up with the advances in technology advice that they would need. We

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Agronomy services– growth and demand

“I think the biggest thing is that farmers have become way more technical. Farming has probably changed more in the last 10 years than in the previous 30 or 40.”

—Ryan Peterson Vision Research make plans with the farmer, try to figure out what crops are best, the best rotation,” remarked Peterson. “We research what hybrids and varieties will work best in their fields. We soil test in the fall and figure out nutrient needs for the coming season.” Farmers who relied on advice

from other farmers or those in related businesses, perhaps even relying on hunches, often found themselves in a guessing game. Today’s agronomy services takes the guesswork out of a lot of choices that are made everyday on the farm. “Bigger yields. That’s what it’s all about,” said Peterson. “For two dollars an acre we make three visits during the growing season.” Peterson said an example of what modern-day agronomists do is insect and disease monitoring. If necessary, says Peterson, “we basically write a prescription just like a doctor and prescribe what they need as an insecticide.” While return on dollars invested in agronomy are sometimes difficult to determine due to the many complexities in growing good crops today, Peterson maintains that

agronomy services generally result in a three to four times return on dollars spent. “An example is herbicide or pesticide recommended that is maybe less costly than a farmer was going to apply,” said Peterson. Vision Agronomy has offices in Berthold, Parshall, Ross and Williston and employs about 10 fulltime consultants. In 2016 they scouted about 160,000 acres of cropland. Peterson says this year could be a good one for growers, especially at the outset due to good soil moisture conditions. “I am way more optimistic than I was with 12 feet of snow in the treerows,” said Peterson. “By the 17th of April there will be a few guys rolling, I think. I’m not concerned about dry conditions in our trade area.”

Inside Ag MINOT DAILY NEWS

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APRIL 2017

In this March 29 photo, while the rest of her classmates hold a yoga pose Jessie Ryan, of Portland, pauses to spend some time with Quincy the goat during Goat Yaga class in Corvallis, Ore. AP Photo

Goat yoga craze: Oregon yoga business goes viral

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Jessie Ryan was ready to move out of her Warrior II pose when she felt a nudge on the back of her leg. When she turned around, she couldn’t help but laugh when she saw Quincy, a 1-year-old mini-goat, staring back up at her. It was the moment Ryan had traveled from Portland to Oregon’s mid-valley to experience: the birthplace of a nation-sweeping craze known as goat yoga. “How can you not connect with this face?” Ryan asked as Quincy bleated back to her. “You’re in the middle of doing a pose, thinking about how terrible everything is, when a goat comes up and kisses you or steps on your fingers and all that stress goes away. It sounds like something a modernday Lewis Carroll would write.” Ryan joined 15 other people for one of the first goat yoga

classes of the new year at Corvallis’ Hanson Country Inn. But they aren’t the only ones who have signed up for founder Lainey Morse’s sessions — the waitlist for the class grew to 2,400 people over the winter. Goat yoga combines a one-hour yoga session with the animal-therapy of social mini-goats that wander around and interact with the class. When Albany’s Morse first combined the words “goat” and “yoga” for a simple event last July, she inadvertently created a media whirlwind. Since then, her life has been anything but simple.

GOAT YOGA FEVER

In the last eight months, stories have appeared in hundreds of media outlets around the world, including the Washington Post, Time magazine, The New York Times, See GOAT — Page 16

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PAGE 16

Goat Continued from Page 14

CNN, NPR, ESPN, National Geographic, Vogue, BBC and hundreds of blogs. Last September, the Post’s Karin Brulliard wrote, “Well, it’s about time: Someone has finally launched a yoga class with goats” and noting that when Morse created the class “magic was made.” Two months later, under the headline “Bring a Yoga Mat and an Open Mind. Goats Are Provided,” New York Times reporter Kirk Johnson wrote, “As you smell that grass on a yoga mat, you realize that you have entered the goats’ world, not the other way around.” There is now a “Goat Yoga” page on Wikipedia, too. Even “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon covered the story in a September 2016 opening monologue. “Apparently, there’s a farm in Oregon that offers a yoga class that you can take with goats roaming around you,” he said. “They even have a special position called the downward facing (soundbite of goat bleating).” Morse, who lives at Albany’s No Regrets Farm with her 11 Nigerian dwarf goats, had hosted several goat-centered events previously, including Goat Therapy (spending relaxing time with goats) and Goat Happy Hour (spending relaxing time with goats and wine). They were well-attended, locally popular and helped supplement her income. But Morse had no idea goat yoga would hit like it did. “Nothing prepares you for that; it’s just absolutely mind-blowing” Morse said while preparing for a class at the Hanson Country Inn. “You always hear about something going viral but you don’t know what it means until you experience it. It’s intense. It’s like a roller coaster you can’t get off. It’s the most crazy thing you could ever do.” The media blitz started last summer after Heather Davis, a yoga instructor at Corvallis’ Live Well Studio, suggested to Morse the

farm as a fun place to host a yoga class. To drum up publicity, Morse posted photos and videos on social media featuring Davis doing a yoga pose with one of Morse’s minigoats on her back. “I really like yoga and I really like goats. I guess other people do too,” Davis said. “I told Lainey this felt like the most Oregonian thing ever. But neither of us expected this.” In less than a day, the photos and videos gathered hundreds of social media “likes” and shares, attracting local and national media attention. And the more media attention the story got, the more calls Morse received for interviews and from people asking to sign up for a session. “It got to the point where I was doing nothing but answering phone calls,” she said. “I lost 20 pounds when it all started happening. I would be so busy during the day I’d forget to eat. I just wasn’t thinking about myself.” Morse had also been diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, an immune system disorder similar to lupus. “I think that played a part too. It just got to be a lot. Everything was going 1,000 mph,” she said. “I mean, who do you go to for advice when something goes viral? You almost feel lonely because there’s no one to go to when something hits like that.”

NO REGRETS

Morse is no stranger to marketing — it was her full-time job at Corvallis’ Henderer Design + Build in Corvallis for more than 10 years. Last November, when she was getting 30 to 40 calls each day, she realized she had to make a choice: Quit a job she loved to focus on what could be a flash-in-the-pan, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it fad; or keep her job and ignore a potentially life-changing new business idea. Morse, who came up with the name “No Regrets” for her Albany farm, said the potential was too enticing to ignore. “I loved my job, but I love goats too. And as much as I loved what I did, when you hit the media lottery, you don’t walk away from

that,” she said. “And I already had debt from medical bills and from my divorce. At that point I thought, ‘I’m going to be in debt for the rest of my life anyway.’ Now I have a glimmer of hope.” Morse said she decided to go all in on the idea and borrowed “a big chunk of money” to start the business. In addition to previous projects and Goat Therapy and Goat Happy Hour events, she established a website (www.goatyoga.net), made deals with local businesses and farms to host goat yoga events, and bought a van (complete with goat yoga decals, pictures and a “Caution: Mini goats on board” sign) to transport her animals. “I have a vehicle that people are constantly stopping to take pictures of and tell people about,” Morse said. “What other vehicles get attention like that other than the Batmobile or the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile? That’s pretty cool.” Since making her decision to start the business, she’s noticed many strange side effects. She trademarked the name “Goat Yoga” and has started selling licensing agreements, but numerous copycats have also sprung up around the country. “I heard of one place that’s trying to do yoga with bunnies now,” she said. “It’s exciting that so many people are loving this idea, but it is still weird to see businesses across the country starting because of what’s happened here.”

THE RIGHT TIME, THE RIGHT PLACE

Morse said her Goat Therapy and Goat Happy Hour events showed her that she wasn’t alone in her love of the therapeutic and calming effects of spending time with goats. And she hoped “goat yoga would resonate like those previous events did. “When I was first diagnosed, I would come out every day and sit here with my goats and I would feel better. It’s not healing diseases but it’s really hard to be sad when a goat comes up to snuggle you,” she said. “It’s such a simple thing, but it makes so many people so happy.” Morse also hears the same ques-

tions every day from others trying to determine why people have responded to these sessions: Why goats? Why not dogs or cats or bunnies? “People use horses and dogs for therapy animals, but to me goats seemed like perfect therapy animals,” she said. “They’re not as intimidating and big as horses. And dogs, what if you’re allergic or if they don’t bond with you or if they’re too shy? Goats don’t care; they just want you to pet them. They have this sense of calm and they kind of go into a meditative state. Maybe that’s why they work so well with yoga.” Fermin Perez, of Portland, said during a Corvallis session this week that the idea of combining goats and yoga made sense. “The goats are peaceful and it just helps you destress,” he said. “They’re hanging around you or doing their own thing and that’s calming, which is what the whole point of yoga is.” Everyone who has taken part in a session has come away with positive feelings, Morse said. But, like many others, she’s still trying to piece together exactly why goat yoga’s become such a phenomenon. One possibility she suggested: an overload of negativity around the world needed to be counterbalanced with some positivity. “I think people are so sick of that negativity,” she said. “I think the political climate especially is so insane that people are grasping for anything that’s positive and happy. And that’s hard to find nowadays.” As with anything new and popular, however, goat yoga’s generated some negative reactions. Morse has received emails and messages critical of her business. Animal rights activists in other parts of the country have attacked her for the way she handles her goats. “For the most part, people are supportive,” she said. “But everyone has a right to believe what they want and if they want to be unhappy they will be. I think unhappy people are going to gravitate in the direction of being negative and they’re going to continue being

APRIL 2017 negative no matter what you do. You can’t fight that.”

LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE

With all of the attention, Morse said it’s sometimes difficult and stressful. Luckily, she has a business that’s all about addressing that stress. “I know that everyone is going to have a different reaction, and for a lot of people, when they see the words ‘Goat Yoga,’ it might sound silly,” she said. “But when you see it happening and you experience it, you quickly realize it’s anything but silly.” One of the participants in Morse’s latest classes was a woman battling breast cancer. Morse said seeing the look on the woman’s face when a goat approached her brought tears to Morse’s eyes. “One of our babies went up to her and nuzzled her face and it made her so happy,” Morse said. “It was very powerful. I had no idea it would get this big and help someone fighting cancer and make them feel better. It’s not curing her disease, but it made her really happy. And she’s still tweeting about it. I think that’s not silly at all.” Morse continues to receive more than 30 calls every day. Lately, many have come from other parts of the world, which means she sometimes gets calls from India or England at 3 a.m. While she could sleep through it and ignore the media buzz or let someone else handle it, Morse said she almost never passes up an opportunity to tell someone about her business. “Everyone wants to do something they love and makes them happy. It’s a double bonus when you can see first-hand how happy it’s making so many people,” she said. “I think when you catch lightning in a bottle like that, you don’t’ ignore it or walk away from it.” But she knows that at some point, the international media spotlight will be gone. “It’s got to die down sometime, right? Maybe in November it did a little bit, but then another story went big and weeks later I had 1,000 people on the waitlist,” she said.

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On-the-farm research making the case for industrial hemp APRIL 2017

BISMARCK (AP) — Real-world research in more than a dozen states in recent years is giving farmers new understanding of how to grow industrial hemp and showing that it has promise to be a viable commercial crop in the U.S. The 2014 federal farm bill allowed for university and state-sponsored research programs of the plant whose fiber can be used in products from paper to clothing and whose oil can be an ingredient in food and health products. Programs have now been launched in 15 states, with two more states coming online, according to the hemp advocacy nonprofit Vote Hemp. “These last several years, those (programs) have been a big first step,” Hemp Industries Association Executive Director Colleen Keahey said. “It’s just really important that we get the government agencies ... all working to have a definition for industrial

MINOT DAILY NEWS

hemp that is equal to that definition in the farm bill.” Federal drug law doesn’t distinguish between hemp and its cannabis cousin, marijuana, even though hemp doesn’t contain enough THC to get a person high. A bill in Congress that would have changed that failed to get a vote last year, but advocates will try again this year, Keahey said. Her association also is fighting DEA hemp restrictions in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled in 2004 that the federal government can’t regulate hemp food products as controlled substances. As those battles continue, farmers are learning more about the plant and what it takes to grow it profitably. North Dakota farmer and crop consultant Clarence Laub, who is taking part in the state’s hemp research program for a second year, said the biggest thing he learned last year was the most effective way to seed hemp.

“We’ll never be done researching, but as far as getting a baseline, based off last year I think it grows very well in the state,” said Laub, who has launched a side business selling hemp oil for food and skin care and hemp protein powder as a health food. “It’s very exciting. There’s a lot of opportunity in the state for different businesses to arise out of this.” The first year of North Dakota’s program provided valuable information on hemp varieties, growing conditions, planting dates and planting costs, according to state Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring. “This is really building a strong case,” he said. “Right now, it kind of looks like we could support hemp production across the state.” Hemp profits ranged from about $500 per acre to more than $850 per acre, when many commercial commodities were providing zero returns.

“When net revenues came in, it caught a lot of attention,” Goehring said. The program, for which participating producers pay all the costs, has grown from three producers and 70 acres last year to 35 producers and 3,064 acres this year. The research program in Kentucky, where hemp once flourished before the federal government outlawed its production in the 1930s, has seen similar growth, going from 33 acres in 2014 to 12,800 acres this year. “There are a lot of farmers that have decreased revenue right now — all farm commodities are down — they’re looking for options,” said Doris Hamilton, who manages the program for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. “There’s also a new segment (of producers) interested in it for the novelty.” Despite the rich history of hemp production in Kentucky, much re-

PAGE 21

search needs to be done, as crop genetics and farm equipment have changed. However, “we know there are varieties that will work well here,” Hamilton said. The research there is yielding information on everything from varieties to fertilizer rates to soil types, though there remain many unknowns and obstacles. There are no approved pesticides or herbicides for hemp, making weeds a big problem, and the economics of the crop will change in the future as more acres are grown affecting supply and demand, according to Hamilton. “We have a lot of challenges to overcome, but we have made great strides,” she said. Other states with hemp research programs are Colorado, Hawaii, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia, according to Vote Hemp.

Group asks university to stop using pigs in trauma training

Inside Ag

MINOT DAILY NEWS

PAGE 22

FARGO (AP) — Doctors who organized a protest at North Dakota State University are offering to pay for a surgical simulator if the school stops using live animals for its trauma-life support training. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine said it will pick up the $3,235 tab for the TraumaMan simulator if the university and Sanford Health stop using live pigs for the course. The advocacy group has been working for the last decade to stop the practice, and North Dakota State is one of the few programs that still use live pigs. University spokeswoman Sadie Rudolph said the school is not aware of the offer. Kelly Rusch, a vice president for research and creative activity, said in a statement that the exercise meets all federal guidelines. “NDSU remains committed to provide for the health and well-being of animals in our

care, as well as committed to our mission as a teaching institution,” Rusch said. About 10 people gathered for the start of the protest across the street from the NDSU campus. Some held up signs that read, “End Animal Labs” and “Modernize Medical Training.” It was the latest in a long line of protest efforts by the nonprofit group. It asked the Fargo city attorney in 2011 to launch a criminal investigation into the program, saying the state’s animal cruelty statute prohibits any act that causes unjustifiable pain, suffering or death. Before that, the group unsuccessfully lobbied the hospital and state political officials. “The best way to teach emergency procedures is with human-relevant methods, not animals,” said Dr. John Pippin, the group’s spokesman.

APRIL 2017

AP Photo

Demonstrators gathered across the street from the North Dakota State University campus in Fargo wave at a honking motorist during the Thursday, April 6, event meant to protest the school's use of live animals in its trauma training course.

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South Dakota officials work to stop spread of bovine TB MINOT DAILY NEWS

APRIL 2017

North Dakota farmers to plant less wheat but more soybeans FARGO (AP) — North Dakota farmers are planning to seed less wheat this year but more soybeans. It’s a trend playing out in many states, with more than 1 billion bushels of surplus wheat in storage in the U.S. The Agriculture Department says in its prospective plantings report that it expects North Dakota farmers to seed 5.4 million acres of spring wheat, down 10 per-

cent from last year. Soybean acres in the state are expected to hit a record, up 14 percent to 6.9 million acres. Other crops with expected increases in the state are canola and chickpeas. Crops with expected acreage decreases are durum wheat, corn, sunflowers, sugar beets, barley, dry beans, dry peas, lentils, flaxseed and oats.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota officials are trying to stop the spread of a strain of bovine tuberculosis discovered in a Harding County cattle herd. It's the first case of bovine tuberculosis in the state in six years. So far 41 infected animals have been identified, the Capital Journal reported. Thirteen neighboring ranches were quarantined, six of which have since been released. State agriculture officials said the remaining seven still have testing to complete. Wildlife officials also are testing deer, pronghorn, possums, rac-

coons, coyotes and badgers in the area. The National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Iowa identified the strain of bovine tuberculosis as nearly identical to one previously only seen in dairy cattle in central Mexico. Officials aren't sure how it entered South Dakota, but state veterinarian Dustin Oedekoven thinks there are at least two possibilities. "One, it came with cattle. A million to a million-and-a-half cattle are imported from Mexico to here. They're all tested and inspected for animal health issues," he said. "We also have additional test require-

PAGE 23

ments if they enter from Mexico into South Dakota. We don't know if these cattle are of Mexican origin. It's a possibility, but it's a long shot." Oedekoven said the second possibility is that the tuberculosis was brought in by people, which can be possible due to the fact that it can infect humans. All animals that tested positive on the initial herd test were removed from the herd. Oedekoven recommended that herds with infected animals be depopulated or moved to slaughter. He said the cattle ranchers would be paid by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the loss of their animals.

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