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OCTOBER 2020
School project bearing fruit By ANDREA JOHNSON
Staff Writer ajohnson@minotdailynews.com
Velva FFA members Preston Kraft, Emma Dove and Caroline Bodine use 5-bgallon buckets to accurately water the trees in the community orchard.
Submitted Photo
Velva FFA treasurer Heath Heilman donates the use of his pickup, trailer and water tank to help water the trees and shrubs in the orchard. Here, Heilman and Velva FFA Chapter President Reagan Hildre work to fill buckets to water the plants. Submitted Photo
Velva FFA Student Advisor Gabe Lakoduk waters an apple tree in the Velva community orchard.
AP Photo
VELVA – Members of the Velva FFA have been tending to their own community orchard this summer. They are looking forward to better days ahead when their trees will bear fruit and when, with the coronavirus pandemic hopefully a bad memory, students might be able to enjoy the produce as part of the school lunch program. FFA advisor Christine Fannik, an agricultural education instructor at the school, said the land for the orchard was leased to the program for free for the next 45 years by the city of Velva. The FFA chapter obtained a grant from the North Dakota Department of Agriculture to start the orchard. Dakota Fence has installed a chain link fence on the land on Central Avenue East, east of the town’s elevator, on the way to Karlsruhe. Lowe’s Garden Center came out and the trees and shrubs were planted in the orchard. Fannik said there are a variety of fruit trees, including apple, plum, cherry, grapes and honeyberry. “They aren’t really bearAP Photo ing fruit this year,” said Apple trees being watered by Velva FFA secreFannik, so there is nothing tary Laurae Beaudrie and FFA reporter Carofor the students to harvest line Bodine. yet. But the students have been watering the trees and maintain the lawn and the space around the orchard. Fannik said the eventual plan is for students to pick the fruit and donate the produce to local food pantries. Reagan Hildre, a senior at Velva High School and president of the school’s FFA chapter, said the fruit might eventually be used in the school’s lunch program. If the coronavirus pandemic ends and students get to have their fruit and salad bar back, the community orchard produce will provide students with a wider variety of fruits for lunch. Students are also getting some valuable experience in tending to the trees and shrubs at the orchard as well as giving something back to the community.
OCTOBER 2020
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OCTOBER 2020
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PAGE 5
Photos by Jill Schramm/MDN
MAIN: Sarah Peterson with North Central Research Extension Center picks grape clusters at the center’s vineyard Sept. 28. INSET: North Central Research Extension Center’s vineyard is enabling research to take place to find the hardiest and best quality grapes for the state’s wine industry.
New association promotes ND wine industry
Viticulture holds key to state winery expansion By JILL SCHRAMM
ciation of North Dakota (WAND) to focus on the growth and development of commercial wineries and serve as a clearinghouse for educational and technical information. The North Dakota’s wine industry has been new association hopes to serve as the voice growing, and the state’s wineries want to see of the state’s wine producers in the public and political arena as it promotes the agrithat growth continue. They recently formed the Winery Asso- cultural heritage of wine. Senior Staff Writer jschramm@minotdailynews.com
See WINE — Page 7
PAGE 6
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OCTOBER 2020
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OCTOBER 2020
Wine
PAGE 7
Continued from Page 5
Rod Ballinger, WAND president and owner of Bear Creek Winery, Fargo, said the association also wants to serve as a resource for individuals who are interested in the winery business and looking for advice to get started on the right track. “We want to get as many wineries as we can in the state,” he said. “We don’t look at other wineries as competition. We look at it as co-opetition.” He explained that building a tourism industry around wine requires a cluster of wineries. North Dakota currently has 17 licensed wineries. Research is key to building the industry and its tourism potential, Ballinger said. The industry had received $250,000 from the state more than 10 years ago for education and research. The legislative program has completed, but the research commissioned to North Dakota State University has been ongoing. Through NDSU, research has been able to fan out to the Extension centers around the state, which offer different growing conditions for testing grape varieties. “Minot was chosen as a main one for us because of its climatic conditions there. It’s a really good test bed for our grapes,” Ballinger said. North Central Research Extension Center at Minot also investigates wine quality with the wine-making assistance of Pointe of View Winery of Burlington, which opened in 2002 as the state’s first winery. Cold hardiness is a primary quality sought through the research trials, with wine quality just as important. “Unless it becomes wine that customers want to buy,
Grape clusters hang from the vines at North Central Research Extension Center. the industry won’t succeed. That’s what it’s all about is wine at the wineries,” Ballinger said. “It has to be good wine, and that’s really what our ultimate goal is.” North Dakota wineries have grown existing coldhardy grape varieties, including those developed for Minnesota, but typically those varieties struggle through a North Dakota winter, he said. “We have to have something more sustainable and more reliable,” he said. “So we can put a plant in and the next year, we have a pretty good feeling that plant can
get through the wintertime and be able to be productive the next year, and year after year. That’s what we’re looking for, because it’ll take five years for these grape plants to mature so we can use the grapes from them. If we lose them, well, then it’s a five year grow-back period. “That’s why we have the research programs – to try to find these varieties that meet those criteria that we need,” he said. “The most important ones are cold hardiness and and wine quality, because you can have the cold-hardiest grapes that could live at 50 below zero, but if it does-
n’t make good wine, it does us no good.” Research both through the Extension Service and at some wineries, including Bear Creek, has expanded the knowledge about techniques for grape production in North Dakota. Research has shown an advantage in North Dakota’s short growing season to trellising grapes on high wires to get more direct sunlight, promoting faster ripening. Still, breeding is essential. Ballinger said there are strong contender varieties in the ongoing evaluation process for the ideal grape
breeds for North Dakota. “We haven’t selected any yet because we have to be careful. We want to make sure that the varieties that we select and name are really what we say they are. We don’t want to put them out there if they’re not really cold hardy and then disease resistant and make good wine. So we have some that we’re watching. Hopefully, they’ll turn out positive for us,” Ballinger said. “We’ve got to remember we’re a new industry and it just takes years to develop how to make wine out of these hybrid varieties. But there’s no question we
Jill Schramm/MDN
can do it.” Even once the right breeds are developed, wine growers in North Dakota still deal with wind, insects and birds. Another concern is chemical spray drift from other crops. Ballinger said the association plans to work closely with farmers and the N.D. Agriculture Department on the chemical drift issue. Wineries aren’t only economically important to North Dakota as agri-tourism but they add value to a local crop through processing fruit into wine for direct sales to See WINE — Page 9
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OCTOBER 2020
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OCTOBER 2020
Wine
Continued from Page 7
customers, he said. The ability to use 100% North Dakota grapes in winery operations would add to that economic value. “If we had varieties that would grow here and be sustained and be reliable here, we would be more willing to put more money into it and grow the industry. Because there’s lots of room to grow the industry,” Ballinger said. “I am optimistic about the future of this industry and the growth of it. It’s just the work that’s got to be done, and it takes, of course, funds to do that. That’s what we’d like to see somehow. We need to keep the funds com-
ing, so we can continue the research.” WAND is a member-driven organization in which members are fully involved in the governance. Charter members in addition to Bear Creek and Pointe of View are 4e Winery, Cottonwood Mapleton; Cider House, Ayr; Dakota Hills Winery, Rugby: Dakota Sun Gardens Winery, Carrington; Dakota Vines Winery, Colfax; Fluffy Fields Winery, Dickinson; Kesselring Vineyards, Kindred; Maple River Winery, Casselton; Prairie Rose Meadery, Fargo; Rookery Rock Winery, Wheatland; Sawyer Crossing Winery, Sawyer; Vintners Cellar Winery, Bismarck; and Wolf Creek Winery, Coleharbor. Jill Schramm/MDN
Plump and ready for wine making, grapes have been harvested as part of a viticulture project at North Central Research Extension Center.
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OCTOBER 2020
Dry soils in early fall By KIM FUNDINGSLAND
Staff Writer kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com It is not a situation North Dakota growers haven’t experienced before, but it is worth watching. Soil moisture conditions are very low throughout much of the state. A year ago the Minot region experienced its wettest September in history with 7.85 inches of rainfall recorded. In sharp contrast this past September ranks as one of the driest in history at less than one-third of an inch of rain. Combined with several days of high winds and warm temperatures, the result has been a drying out of the soil. Low soil moisture in early fall is not particularly troubling because there are several months
Dry conditions are present over a wide area of North Dakota as winter approaches. A sizeable portion of the northern part of the state, including the gooseneck of Ward County and all of Renville County, is among the driest places in the state. Submitted Photo
remaining on the calendar before next spring’s planting season, which is when moisture becomes critical to the emergence of new crops. Improvement in soil moisture can can from rain yet this fall
or from snow cover this winter, provided the spring melt is cooperative and snow cover soaks into the ground rather than running off too quickly to be absorbed into the soil.
The U.S. Drought Monitor issues weekly assessments of soil moisture conditions, using a ranking system D0-D4 – abnormally dry to exceptional drought. About one-third of the state, in-
cluding almost all of Ward County, was listed as being in “moderate” drought in late September according to the Drought Monitor. Areas in the northwest, north-central and south-central sections of the state were listed in “severe” drought with abnormally dry conditions over much of the remaining part of the state. Given normal precipitation in the weeks ahead, soil moisture conditions are not likely to show much improvement for the remainder of 2020. October-December are historically very dry months with the Oct. normal at 1.16 inches of precipitation, Nov. 0.75, and Dec. 0.38. The totals include precipitation amounts from snowfall. The U.S. Drought Monitor issues its weekly assessments every Thursday.
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OCTOBER 2020
PAGE 11
TriGen Ag Partners building shuttle grain terminal at Ryder By ELOISE OGDEN
Regional Editor eogden@minotdailynews. com RYDER – A shuttle grain terminal with loop track is being built at Ryder in southwest Ward County by TriGen Ag Partners LLC. Plaza-Makoti Equity Elevator merged with Max Farmers Elevator officially on July 1. Tri-Gen Ag Partners LLC, a newly formed LLC, consists of Agrex Inc. of Minneapolis and the cooperative. “Tri” represents the three counties the elevators serve, according to TriGen Ag Partners information. “It also has
significance with the three existing elevators at Max, Plaza and Makoti as well as the three companies that have combined assets and capital to form TriGen and what will be the new shuttle terminal in Ryder.” The “Gen” in the company’s name “represents not only our heritage but what we know will be a success for many generations to come,” TriGen Ag Partners is building the shuttle grain terminal with 1.050 million storage capacity and slightly more than 10,000 feet of track, according to Rick Talbott, general manager of the Max elevator. The train loader will be capable of loading 140 rail cars.
About 320 acres were purchased for the new facility on the west side of N.D. Highway 28 and north side of Ward County Road 22 at Ryder. Farden Construction of Maxbass is the company for the dirt work at the site and general contractor is Vigen Construction Inc. of East Grand Forks, Minn. The loop track will be built by Northern Plains Rail Co. of Fordville. Canadian Pacific Railway serves the area. Four or five people are expected to be employed at the facility when it is completed. “We’re hoping to be up and running for harvest for next year,” Talbott said.
A site at Ryder was being prepared for construction of a new shuttle grain terminal, shown in this Sept. 11 photo. TriGen Ag Partners LLC and Agrex Inc. are building the shuttle grain terminal that will include a loop track. Eloise Ogden/MDN
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OCTOBER 2020
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receivers MUST have a software update done in order to Autotrac in 2021. This is because the US government is decommissioning the satellites they are currently using. If you are unable to update the software yourself you can have Gooseneck update it in store for $36.
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OCTOBER 2020
PAGE 13
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OCTOBER 2020
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Kim Fundingsland/MDN
Corn yields are expected to be quite good this year, as has been the case for crops already harvested. Corn is one of the latest crops to be brought off the fields in North Dakota.
Crop yields strong; Corn, sunflower harvest ahead By KIM FUNDINGSLAND
Berthold Farmer’s Elevator. “They’re about one-third of the Staff Writer kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com way through the beans already, just marching along.” Some early frost impacted It appears this year’s growing season, buoyed by moisture left beans that were not quite mature, over from a record wet September but most of that occurred in the a year ago, has resulted in a better northwest part of the state, said than average yield. Reports from Mostad. In the Berthold area frost the area are that harvested crops had little impact on quality. Still have been better than average. to come is the corn and sunflower “Harvest 2020 has been pretty harvest. good. The guys are pretty much “It looks like the guys are pretty done with most of the wheat and happy with the corn, around here canola,” said Dan Mostad, anyway,” remarked Mostad.
“There’s some pretty good stands. They’ll move from beans right into corn. There’s not too many sunflowers around here but what is out there looks pretty good. Birds are making their way into the area so the growers will want to get those flowers off before the birds get at them.” Soil conditions are quite dry in the Berthold area, as is the case over much of the western portion of the state. While dry conditions provided for good harvest conditions, growers are watching the
conditions closely. “We could use rain once we get done with the harvest,” said Mostad. “All that rain last fall made this year’s crop what it is. Quite a few guys want to do some fall tillage and rain would loosen that soil up a little bit.” At the Renville Elevator Company in Tolley, Shawn Roering says the harvest has been a good one. “It went real good. Everything came off in good shape with good bushels,” said Roering. “No corn
or sunflowers yet. The corn looks nice and is getting dried down. Sunflowers? I would say the middle of October.” Brad Bethke, Rugby Farmer’s Elevator in Willow City, says the harvest in that area has been good too. “We don’t have any numbers or anything yet but, for the most part, it’s okay for soybeans, canola, wheat and flax,” said Bethke. “I haven’t heard much about corn. Everybody is still doing beans.”
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OCTOBER 2020
Fall good time to manage some pasture weeds Fall is the best time to control some of North Dakota’s most notorious weeds in pastures and other grasslands, according to North Dakota State University Extension specialists. “Leafy spurge and invasive thistles can be challenging to control in pasture and grasslands due to their extensive root systems,” said Miranda Meehan, Extension livestock environmental stewardship specialist. “In the fall, plants begin to allocate energy to their root systems. As a result, fall herbicide treatment maximizes injury to the root system.” Here is advice on dealing with some of the worst weeds.
Leafy Spurge “Proper timing of herbicide applications is essential for good leafy spurge control,” said Extension rangeland management specialist Kevin Sedivec. In the fall, leafy spurge is most susceptible to Tordon (picloram), dicamba (Banvel and other trade names), Facet L (quinclorac), Facet L + Overdrive and Method (aminocyclopyrachlor). Fall-applied Plateau (imazapic) provides better long-term control and causes less grass injury than spring or summer treatments. The combination of Tordon plus Overdrive also will improve leafy spurge control compared with Tordon used alone. Overdrive contains dicamba plus difluenzopyr, which is an anti-auxin compound that often improves broadleaf weed control when applied with auxinlike herbicides such as Tordon, dicamba and 2,4-D. To achieve the greatest control, the treatment must be applied at the appropriate stage of development. Tordon, dicamba and Facet L should be applied when the plant has 4 to 12 inches of regrowth. However, Method is most effective when applied at the rosette stage. Overdrive should be applied prior to a killing frost. Leafy spurge control must be
Submitted Photo
Fall is the ideal time to treat many weeds on the noxious thistle list, including musk thistle. Photo from NDSU. considered a long-term management program, the specialists say. Research at NDSU has shown that more of the root system is killed when a combination of control methods is used, compared with any method used alone.
Thistles Thistles tend to invade overgrazed or otherwise disturbed pastures, rangeland, roadsides and waste areas. Fall is the ideal time to treat many on the noxious thistle list, including Canada thistle, musk thistle and bull thistle. If you are unsure of what thistle you have,
refer to the NDSU Extension publication “The Thistles of North Dakota” (www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/crops/the-thistles-of-northdakota). Control of Canada thistle is usually greater when treatment is applied in the fall to plants in the rosette form. Herbicides that control Canada thistle in noncropland include products that contain clopyralid (various), Tordon (picloram), dicamba (various), dicamba plus diflufenzopyr (Overdrive), Method (aminocyclopyrachlor) and Milestone (aminopyralid). Fall is the preferred time for ap-
plying herbicides to biennial thistles, such as musk thistle and bull thistle. This allows for application at the rosette stage, when the plants are most susceptible to herbicides. Herbicides should be applied as late as possible in the fall, but prior to a killing frost, to allow for maximum seedling emergence and rosette size. Seedlings that emerge after spraying will remain vegetative until the following spring and can be treated then. Biennial thistles can be controlled effectively with Milestone (aminopyralid), Stinger, Transline or Curtail (clopyralid), Tordon (pi-
cloram), Method (aminocyclopyrachlor), or dicamba (various) or dicamba plus diflufenzopyr (Overdrive). Consult NDSU Extension Service publication W253, “North Dakota Weed Control Guide” (www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/cr ops/north-dakota-weed-controlguide) for the latest recommendations for noxious weed control with herbicides. Grazing restrictions vary with herbicide and application rate, so read the label carefully before using any product. Source: NDSU Agriculture Communication
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Be on the lookout for Palmer amaranth BISMARCK – Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) has been confirmed in Barnes and Cass counties, according to the North Dakota Department of Agriculture on Sept. 9. A crop specialist noticed some suspect plants in a Barnes County field and notified the landowner. The landowner worked with a North Dakota State University Extension specialist, who submitted samples for DNA analysis to the National Agricultural Genotyping Center, where it was confirmed as Palmer amaranth. In the Cass County case, a NDSU Extension specialist found it within the city of Fargo, and it was confirmed in the same way. These are the third and fourth findings this year, with the other findings being in Benson and Stutsman counties. Palmer amaranth, an aggressive pigweed species similar in appearance to waterhemp, is native to the southwestern U.S. but was accidentally introduced to other areas and has devastated crops in the South and Midwest. It is a prolific seed producer that can emerge throughout the growing season. It grows rapidly at 2-3 inches per day in optimum conditions and is prone to herbicide resistance and multiple modes of action. It is a highly invasive weed that can dramatically cut crop yields. “I strongly encourage agricultural producers to monitor fields for weed infestations. If you have cattle that were fed grain screenings, pay particular attention to where their manure was spread or where they may have foraged. Do not assume it is just pigweed or waterhemp,” Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said. “With harvest season in full swing, farmers are also encouraged to scout fields and clean excess dirt and plant debris off equipment between fields to prevent unintentional spread.” The public is urged to work with local weed officers, extension agents and other experts to identify and report suspect plants. Palmer amaranth may spread through multiple channels, including: contaminated seed mixes; equipment and machinery movement; animal feed and bedding; and wild birds. Palmer amaranth has now been found in 12 North Dakota counties. Those sites continue to be monitored for Palmer amaranth. More information on Palmer amaranth and other noxious and invasive weeds is available at www.nd.gov/ndda/plant-industries/noxious-weeds. To report a suspect plant, go to www.nd.gov/ndda/pa or contact your local county weed officer or North Dakota State University Extension agent.
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OCTOBER 2020
The name “durum” comes from the Latin word for hard, and durum is indeed the hardest of wheats. This variety, with its large, amber kernels, is the choice for making spaghetti, lasagna and hundreds of other pasta shapes. One bushel of durum makes about 210 servings of pasta. Pulse crops – dry peas, lentils and chickpeas – are among the oldest cultivated plants, going back some 10,000 years.
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energy and protein. Members of the legume family, pulses are an excellent rotational crop since they fix nitrogen in the soil for future plantings. The most easily recognizable North Dakota crop, sunflowers were raised here by American Indians. In the 18th century, the plant was taken to Russia where modern commercial varieties were developed.
North Dakota farmers grow two types of sunflowers: the large striped-shelled varieties used for snacks and food ingredients, and the smaller, blackshelled varieties used to make oil and for birdseed. Source: www.nd.gov/ndda
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OCTOBER 2020
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Small Minnesota farmers challenge conventional agriculture
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SEBEKA, Minn. (AP) — It's hard to see how anyone could coax anything green from this sandy patch of Minnesota soil. But Kathy Connell can. Most of the vegetables have already been harvested from her vast garden, but a few plump watermelons and cucumbers still peek out from beneath the leaves. Farming this dry patch of rural Wadena County takes patience, dedication — and water. "It is just sand. The only thing that really grows well on it are pine trees," Connell said. "You have to restore and add additional organic matter. You have to apply water, because three days without rain are a drought on this sand." On these 2 acres of land, Connell produced organic vegetables that she sold for years at farmers' markets and whole foods stores. At 74, she's scaling back and now mainly grows vegetables for her own family. She remains a staunch advocate for growing as much of your
own food as possible, Minnesota Public Radio News reported. "I think it makes food sacred to you then," she said. "I think you begin to understand the connection between how everything, every system on this planet works." Outside of the ring of pine trees that circles Connell's land, an entirely different type of agriculture has been reshaping the countryside in north-central Minnesota. Over the past few decades, thousands of acres of pine forests have been converted to potatoes and other row crops, which need lots of water and fertilizer. One farmer's plans to irrigate his land to grow crops has triggered a legal challenge by organic farmers and clean water advocates. They say traditional agriculture is not a good fit for the sandy soil, and they envision a different way of farming in this region known as the Pineland Sands, which covers parts of Wadena, See FARM — Page 23
OCTOBER 2020
AP Photo
Tim Nolte looks out over his herd of cattle on his family’s farm near Sebeka, Minn., in early February. Nolte’s children want to continue farming, but he says the environmental review process and delays have financially strapped him.
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Autonomous platform debuted at US farm show INSIDE AG
OCTOBER 2020
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.-(BUSINESS WIRE) — Raven Industries, Inc., the leader in precision agriculture solutions, debuted its autonomous platform, Dot, for the first time at Farm Progress Virtual Experience, one of the largest public farm shows in the United States. The autonomous platform is compatible with a variety of implements, including New Leader's NL5000 G5 Crop Nutrient Applicator, which will be shown with the demo. New Leader is a strategic implement partner that will accelerate early adoption for Raven Autonomy. Because of the company's industry-leading tech-
Farm
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Cass, Becker and Hubbard counties. Down the road from Connell is Tim Nolte's cattle farm. Nolte's plan to pump groundwater to irrigate about 300 acres set off the latest battle over farming in the Pineland Sands. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources required Nolte to complete an environmental assessment worksheet outlining the potential impacts of his irrigation plan before it would issue the groundwater permits.
nology, Raven was asked by Farm Progress to offer a close-up look at autonomous machinery in action. The Dot Power Platform, part of Raven Autonomy, is a mobile diesel-powered platform designed to work autonomously with a wide variety of implements commonly used in agriculture. The autonomous platform builds on Raven's portfolio of market-leading precision ag technology, including the company's recent advancement to full canopy steering and guidance through VSN Visual Guidance. With VSN, machine operators can cover 20% more acres due to increased speed from no longer
In June, the DNR decided to not order a more in-depth environmental impact study. It decided that any potential impacts from the irrigation plan were minimal or could be managed through regulations. Connell joined an appeal of the department's decision led by the Environmental Working Group and other clean water advocacy organizations. They're worried that the Fargo, North Dakota-based company R.D. Offutt, which sold Nolte the land, plans to lease it to expand its potatogrowing efforts in the region. Nolte said he's using his land to grow corn and sorghum. Tara May, a
requiring manual steering. It reduces driver fatigue and misapplication in the field, which can cost growers yield and profit of up to 2%. VSN, the only high-precision non-contact full canopy solution in the industry, uses radar to determine its path. Further integrating automation into precision farming, VSN's advancements are Raven's latest technological step towards fullyautonomous solutions. "Bringing autonomous solutions to the farm will allow us to connect all aspects of the operation for the first time," said Wade Robey, Executive Director of Raven Autonomy. "We will con-
spokesperson for R.D. Offutt, said the company has no current agreement with Nolte. She said the company is not seeking additional land in the Pineland Sands, with the exception of land swaps that allow crop rotation. May said R.D. Offutt is constantly looking for ways to improve its farming operations, including rotating crops, reducing tillage and fertilizer use and planting cover crops. Still, organic farmers and clean water advocates say it's time for a broad study of the impacts of conventional farming in this region. They're worried that it's causing rising nitrate levels in groundwater,
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nect, control and optimize the full precision agricultural ecosystem. This provides farmers greater control and access to more information to optimize decision making. Farmers will see efficiency gains across their entire operation, better equipping them to compete in a challenging world." Raven's advancements in autonomous technology for agriculture operations are aligned and built upon the company's past years of innovation. From Slingshot connectivity and logistics, to guidance and steering and application control — this full spectrum of technology
and that overpumping could cause wells to run dry. Tests have found more than 10 percent of the private wells in some area townships have nitrate levels above the state health standard for drinking water. "We need to change how we live up here, and industrial agriculture needs to change how it lives up here," said activist and sustainable farmer Winona LaDuke, who lives near the village of Pine Point on the White Earth Reservation, which borders the Pineland Sands. Since moving to the area in 1981, LaDuke said she's witnessed significant changes.
comes together to increase efficiency across all aspects of an operation. Raven Industries is dedicated to providing innovative, highvalue products and solutions that solve great challenges throughout the world. Raven is a leader in precision agriculture, high-performance specialty films, and lighter-than-air technologies. Since 1956, Raven has designed, produced, and delivered exceptional solutions, earning the company a reputation for innovation, product quality, high performance, and unmatched service. For more information, visit https://ravenind.com.
"It's just more and more things getting cut, and more and more trees disappearing, and more and more stuff going in the water," she said. LaDuke plans to file a "friend of the court" brief on behalf of her organization, Honor the Earth, and Pine Point tribal community members, in support of those appealing the DNR's decision. So does Ryan Pesch, who grows organic commercial vegetables east of Pelican Rapids, and is also a University of Minnesota Extension educator. Pesch said he's standing up for small organic farmers whose livelihood is threatened by pesticide drifting from large farms.
"We're doing 5 acres of production, in comparison to the 1,200 acres of potatoes over there. That seems like this tiny little blip of a farm," Pesch said. But he said farmers like himself are making a decent living by growing small plots of vegetables — sometimes a more lucrative living than trying to grow hundreds of acres of commodities like potatoes or corn. Pesch, LaDuke and others will go on record with their concerns in amicus briefs they'll submit to the Minnesota Court of Appeals this fall. The DNR said it expects a decision on the appeal sometime next year.
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OCTOBER 2020
We’re also farmers. Farming is business. We get that. That’s why we are always here for our clients. We’re not only ag lenders at First Western Bank & Trust, we’re also farmers.
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