Farm Section edition 2019

A supplement to the Stevens County Times March 9, 2019

Will pigs eat algae? see pg. 2

What about a fair rent? see pg. 3

2019 FARM SECTION

Caring for the mental health of farmers, see pg 9

Raising organic swine, see pg. 14

2019 Farm Section

2 Saturday, March 9, 2019

The Stevens County Times

Will algae become pig feed?

Research focuses on the possible use

By Lee Johnston, Pedro Urriola, Jerry Shurson, and Milena Saqui-Salces Department of Animal Science, St. Paul and West Central Research and Outreach Center, Morris University of Minnesota Editor’s note: Reprinted by permission from “National Hog Farmer” magazine Pork producers are being challenged by downstream market chains and consumers to decrease the carbon, land, and water footprints of their production systems.

One approach to address this rising challenge is to find new or non-traditional feed ingredients for use in swine diets that have a lower environmental footprint. Because feed is one of the largest contributors to the carbon footprint of pork production, it makes sense to look for alternative feed ingredients that have a lower carbon footprint than traditional ingredients like corn and soybean meal. Some of these possibilities include novel ingredients like single cell proteins, insect meal, recycled human food wastes, and microalgae to name a few.

Microalgae are single-celled organisms that have been studied for a wide variety of applications in wastewater remediation and production of biofuels, pigments, bio-fertilizers, and livestock feed among others (Figure 1). These organisms can grow very rapidly by capturing car-

bon dioxide and sunlight to produce biomass that is rich in nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Microalgae can be dried and fed to livestock or it can be processed in biorefineries to extract oil and protein for industrial purposes. The remaining components (mainly carbohydrate) may be a source of low cost energy in swine diets.

Microalgae carbohydrates have been described as having prebiotic properties with potential health benefits to pigs. To evaluate this possibility, our group recently determined the effects of feeding a microalgae extract (MAE) on growth performance of nursery pigs. This MAE represented the portion that remained after partial extraction of fat by mechanical methods.

We evaluated the MAE in diets fed to pigs throughout the nursery phase beginning at weaning (21 days of age) until 6 weeks post-weaning.

Diets in each nursery phase (phase 1 = 1 to 14 days, phase 2 = 15 to 28 days, and phase 3 = 29 to 42 days) contained 0, 1, 5, 10 or 20% MAE. Phase 1 diets contained lactose (20%), soy protein concentrate (15%), dried whey (5.5%) and fish meal (5%) in addition to corn and soybean meal. Phase 2 diets contained these same high quality ingredients but at lower concentrations.

The MAE was included in diets as a partial replacement for corn. The low

dietary levels of MAE (1 and 5%) were included to evaluate possible prebiotic effects of microalgae in the gut of weaned pigs.

The high dietary levels (10 and 20%) were included to evaluate the utility of MAE as a significant source of energy and nutrients in nursery diets.

Growth performance of pigs improved with the addition of MAE to diets (Table 1). Body weights of pigs fed the 1%, 5%, and 10% MAE diets were 2.6 to 3.3 lbs greater than pigs fed the control diet at the end of the nursery period. Most of this increased body weight was realized during the first 7 days of the experiment. The increased body weight with low to moderate concentrations of dietary MAE (1 to 10%) was due to improved daily weight gain and increased daily feed intake, which also occurred early in the nursery period. An interesting finding was that pigs fed the highest level of MAE (20%) performed similar to pigs fed no MAE. This suggests that moderate dietary concentrations of MAE (1 to 10%) may enhance pig growth performance, but higher dietary levels (up to 20%) will support pig performance similar to corn-soybean meal based

diets. Another important observation in this study was that the flowability of the meal diets fed in this experiment progressively declined as MAE concentration increased. In fact, the poor handling characteristics of the 20% MAE diet created challenges to ensure that feed flowed through feeders and was readily accessible to pigs.

Pigs experienced some coughing and diarrhea during the second week of the experiment, which resulted in the need to treat all pigs with neomycin (22 mg/kg BW) in drinking water for 7 days.

Eighteen additional pigs received individual antibiotic injections to combat

persistent coughing and gaunt appearance. Interestingly, the incidence of individual treatments and mortality in pigs fed MAE tended to be less than those fed the control diets that contained no MAE. These data provide some suggestion that MAE may be useful to improve health and survival of health-challenged pigs.

Conclusions The extracted microalgae product evaluated in this experiment had adequate energy and digestible nutrient content to support acceptable growth performance and health of nursery pigs. In fact, feeding MAE may be beneficial

in reducing mortality in health-challenged pigs.

Furthermore, microalgae have potential to serve as a feed ingredient that can be used to reduce the carbon footprint and improve the environmental sustainability of modern pork production systems. However, there are thousands of species of microalgae that respond to growing conditions in multiple ways which affects their nutrient composition and potential use as feed ingredients. As a result, additional studies are needed to further evaluate the potential use of microalgae species and microalgae co-products in swine diets.

‘Prairie Sportsman’ topic timely today

By Russ Gesch and Beth Burmeister USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Morris Pioneer Public Television’s locally produced show, “Prairie Sportsman,” highlighted cover crop research conducted by the USDA-Agricultural Research Service-North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory’s (Soils Lab). The episode, titled “Sugar Cover,” aired on April 29, 2018. However, with spring just around the corner, the topic of cover crops is still just as timely.

The episode explained the dilemma faced by

sugar beet producers. Following sugar beet harvest, the soil is left bare. This makes it vulnerable to wind and water erosion.

The Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative of Renville encouraged its members to plant cover crops in the fall. Ideally, the cover crop would grow tall enough to catch snow and put down roots to hold the valuable topsoil in place over the harsh Minnesota winter.

Fortunately, researching cover crop solutions is a specialty of researchers at the Soils Lab in Morris.

Take, for example, Russ Gesch, a research

plant physiologist, and Frank Forcella, a research agronomist. Over the past several years, they’ve been researching new oilseed crops that can serve as “cash” cover crops. They discovered winter camelina and pennycress can be grown as winter annual crops that provide some of the same agroecosystem benefits as traditional cover crops, like winter cereal rye and forage radish, but with the added benefit of being harvested for the value of their seeds. In fact, Gesch and Forcella demonstrated

PRAIRIE: Page 6 Photo by Maninder Walia

Sugar beet producers are turning to cover crops like camelina to protect the top soil over the winter and vulnerable sugar beet seedlings in the spring. The above photo was taken in a sugar beet field in Renville County in mid-June. In addition, camelina suppresses early summer weed growth. In contrast, the fallow plots (left bare over the winter) on the left and right show heavy weed pressure.

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2019 Farm Section

The Stevens County Times

Saturday, March 9, 2019 3

A combine harvests soybeans in the fall of 2018.

Bins are visible in the background.

RaeYost/Stevens County Times

Prices, yields can impact a fair rent Farmers are still very strong on paper but their cash-flow stinks.

– DAVID BAU, extension educator said.

Crop prices have reached record lows and rents have remained high when compared to historic averages, Bau said.

But, rental prices did go down in the county from the USDA calculated price of $164 per acre in 2017 to the estimated price of $144 in 2018. Prices increased from $104 per acre in 2010 to $161 in 2014 and $158 in 2015, $154 in 2016 and $150 in 2017.

The average rent was $90 per acre in 2008 and $98 in 2009.

So, when landowners and tenants consider today’s farm economy, it may be time to adjust the rent, Bau said.

Landowners may want to consider several different options for rent other than a flat cash rent per acre, Bau said.

Farmers can use a flexible rent based on gross revenue of the farmland.

A base payment can be

made during the crop year and a final payment is due after the actual yield and price are determined. Bau said this is the most common type of flexible rent agreement.

Other flexible rents can be based on yield only or price for crops.

With yield rent, there is a base rent and the landlord receives a set number of bushels with additional bushels if yields are higher than determined with the base payment.

With price only flexible rent, the base rent is based on the price of crops. It is usually a oneyear’s average multiplied by the bushel, Bau said.

A profit sharing flexible rent is one in which the landlord and tenant share the profit at 50 percent each.

“A flexible lease can be a win-win agreement,” Bau said.

Bau said landowners should not just think of a rent agreement as so

much per acre but rather in terms of flexible rates, clauses on performance, long-term agreements and other factors. What does the landlord want to achieve with rent and what does the tenant want to achieve with a rental agreement, are questions that should be asked and answered with any rental agreement, Bau said.

Landlords and tenants

need to use objective data for rental agreements, “not the coffee shop,” Bau said.

For one example, Bau talked about a $400 peracre rental agreement in which the landlord covered some tiling costs on the land, Bau said. “The coffee shop report was $400 per acre rent. They didn’t know the details of the agreement,” Bau said.

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What’s a fair rent for cropland in Stevens County?

It depends, said David Bau, an extension educator in agriculture business management for the University of Minnesota Extension Service.

Bau presented a workshop called “What is a Fair Rental Agreement for 2019?” on Feb. 13 at the West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris.

The average estimated rent paid on cropland in Stevens County in 2019 is $138 per acre, Bau said. Bau calculated that rent from data collected by the USDA, data from the Farm Business Management Associations in southern Minnesota and other information.

As of Feb. 13, corn and soybean farmers should be making enough money to pay the rent in the county, Bau said.

When Bau calculates the direct expenses for farming with the average corn and soybean yield and the price per bushel for corn and soybeans, farmers will have the ability to cover the average rent in

2019, Bau said.

But whether or not a farmer can afford to pay rent depends on other factors.

When overhead costs for items such as hired labor, utilities, farm insurance and interest .are included in calculations, the outlook dims, Bau said.

“Farmers are still very strong on paper but their cash-flow stinks,” Bau said.

Farmers with cashflow problems may need a bank loan to help with crop expenses, Bau said.

Yet, some may not be able to use the same bank they’ve been using for a few years. An estimated “twenty percent will get turned away from traditional banks. It doesn’t mean they won’t get financing, they will just have to go somewhere else,” Bau said.

Multiple years of low prices, a farmer’s cash flow position and other factors may make it difficult for farmers to use the same bank again, Bau said.

Cooperatives that sell seed or fertilizer and other supplies to farmers may also need to provide financing to farmers, Bau

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2019 Farm Section

4 Saturday, March 9, 2019

The Stevens County Times

Submitted photo

The organic dairy herd at West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris stays outside in the winter.

Out-wintering the dairy herd at WCROC

By Brad Heins West Central Research and Outreach Center Quests for profitability and increased public interest in farm animal welfare have fostered a need to investigate winter housing options for low-input dairy herds. Housing options in Minnesota, which has cold winters, include tie-stall barns, free-stall barns, compost barns, and “out-wintering” on bedded packs with wind shelters. We have long known that beef cows and older dairy heifers can thrive with minimal shelter during Minnesota winters. In contrast, milk cows have generally been kept indoors, in part because they were milked in tiestall barns. More recently, curtain-sided free stall barns or cross ventilat-

ed barns have become the standard housing of new construction for larger herds.

Out-wintering continues to increase in popularity, and our stakeholders identified the economics of housing systems as an important research topic.

In particular, they asked if out-wintered dairy cattle will stay healthy and comfortable. If so, out-wintering could reduce winter housing costs.

We recently published a study that will develop practical strategies for organic dairy producers to enhance the profitability of their farm by evaluating two winter housing systems and their effects on economics of dairy cows. Dairy cows at the

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News

The Stevens County Times

Saturday, March 9, 2019 5

Corn landraces that are more efficient in using nitrogen and may fix their own

By Walter Goldstein, Mandaamin Institute, Elkhorn, Wisconsin A. A. Jaradat, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Morris C. Hurburgh, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa Modern corn cultivars and hybrids have been developed to respond to mineral nitrogen inputs in order to meet yield targets of 150 to 200 bushels per acre. However, high rates of nitrogen input may diminish water and air quality as well as endanger human and animal health. Moreover, increasing grain yield can favor starch production at the expense of protein, minerals and other beneficial constituents of the corn kernel.

A forthcoming paper in the journal “Open Agriculture” portrays a long-term corn breeding and selection program under low-input organic conditions. This program was adopted at the Mandaamin Institute in Elkhorn, Wisconsin., to develop high-quality corn as a potential alternative for organic farmers. The grain coming from this program is more nutritionally balanced and therefore can serve as a less expensive and more sustainable feed source for animals. This is because the selection process in the breeding program focused on shifting protein composition in favor of the protein portions that are rich in essential amino acids. Better proteins enable animals and poultry to more efficiently produce body weight and high-quality products such as eggs.

Another objective of the breeding program was to increase corn’s ability to efficiently obtain nitrogen with less applied fertilizer. This includes increasing the ability of the corn plant to partner with soil microbes so that it can fix its own nitrogen and produce high levels of quality protein in the grain.

The philosophy of the breeding program is to regard corn as a responding partner in the breed-

ing process and to exercise enhanced observation of the results of selection. Therefore, the program utilized natural plant genetic and other adaptive processes beyond classical genetics, under nitrogen-limited growing conditions; while, at the same time, selection was for vigor, yield, and grain quality. However, the breeding program needed a faster method of selecting grain with high quality protein and other nutrients. A team at Iowa State University’s Grain Testing Laboratory developed a new approach using Near Infrared calibration.

It measures the essential amino acids methionine and lysine without destroying the grain, which then was planted in the field to produce more grains with these amino acids.

A major outcome was the appearance of soft kernels, rich in high-quality proteins packed with 30 percent more methionine and 16 percent more lysine, as well as higher quantities of trace elements, especially iron and zinc. The quality of the grain was documented in joint publications of USDA-ARS in Morris, Minn., and Mandaamin Institute, Elkhorn, Wis. Organic farmers are limited in the amount of synthetic methionine they can feed to poultry.

High-methionine corn offers a way to decrease the amount of soybean or sunflower meal the farmers need to feed their flocks to meet their nutritional needs. The added value of the corn was increased by the extra amounts of these essential amino acids by as much as $1.37 more per bushel for organic poultry production.

Corn cultivars and breeding lines that had previously been grown under conventional or organic systems were compared under field conditions for many years. The repeated growing and selection under organic conditions resulted in plants that had better nitrogen-use effi-

AGRICULTURAL COMMERCIAL • RESIDENTIAL

gen-limiting conditions.

In 2014, a major breakthrough appeared to occur with identification of a group of closely related corn genotypes that strongly expressed the nitrogen-use efficiency and putative N2 fixation trait. This group (called “C4-6”) was derived from what had been the most nitrogen-efficient breeding family grown on the nitrogen-limiting locations in 2013 and 2014.

It has expressed the trait in comparative trials on multiple, nitrogen-limiting sites on all subsequent years. High chlorophyll content in leaves closely correlated with their nitrogen content. Measurement of chlorophyll has shown that the best of the C4-6 derivatives may have 15 percent to approximately one third

more chlorophyll than conventionally developed cultivars in adjacent plots.

Yield results for 2016 and 2017 indicated that the nitrogen efficient/ putative N2 fixing hybrids can yield higher amounts of grain and protein per hectare than conventional hybrids under nitrogen-limiting conditions, but not as well under conditions with high rates of manure application.

These results validated a breeding approach that simultaneously combined breeding for nutritional quality and for nutrient efficiency under organic conditions. The basis for nitrogen efficiency and protein quality in our cultivars could be attributed to shifts in root efficiency, microbial relationships, and protein metabolism.

Higher yield and bet-

ter protein quality of the breeding program, most likely, can be attributed to a better adaptation of the corn plant to reduced fertilizer inputs, thus fostering beneficial plant-microbial partnerships. In addition, corn breeding under organic conditions also benefitted from keen breeder insights and adherence to breeding and selection principles under low external inputs of organic farming. The extent to which the results can be explained by factors beyond the classical principles of genetics deserves further research and clarification.

We encourage other researchers and farmers to test our approach to increase nutritional value, profitability and agricultural sustainability for corn and other small grain crops.

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ciency. This may be due to shifts in the heredity of the plants or to shifts in relationships with soil microbes that may have positive or negative effects on nitrogen metabolism.

In 2011, the program identified ancient cultivars of corn developed over many generations by farmers. These cultivars appeared to have the ability to fix nitrogen from the air, especially with the help of bacteria. Hybrids made between corn from the Corn Belt and these ancient cultivars responded to inoculation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria by producing more protein and grain yield than normal corn. Normal corn hybrids did not respond to such treatment. The crosses were selected for many years for nitrogen efficiency under nitro-

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Grain streams into waiting trailer during harvest in 2016.

2019 Farm Section

6 Saturday, March 9, 2019

The Stevens County Times

Rae Yost/Stevens County Times

Cows outside at the West Central Research and Outreach Center. Brad Heins of WCROC said the cows are used to the outdoors and the weather does not negatively impact them. The cows also have windbreaks, a three-sided shelter or natural windbreaks.

HERD

of the study, 268 lactating Holstein and crossbred From Page 4 dairy cattle were assigned to a winter housing system (straw pack or comUniversity of Minnesota’s post-bedded pack barn).

West Central Research and Wheat straw was used as Outreach Center, Morris, bedding for the outdoor MN, that calved during fall straw packs, which were and spring calving sea- 40 feet wide by 80 feet sons were used to evaluate long, and maintained to production, somatic cell keep cows dry and absorb score, dry matter intake, manure throughout the profitability, and behav- winter.

The open-front ior of dairy cattle housed compost-bedded pack outdoors on a straw pack barn (2 pens in the barn) or indoors in a compost was bedded with sawdust, bedded pack barn. and the bedding material During the three years was stirred twice per day

PRAIRIE From Page 2

that camelina and pennycress can be harvested early enough the following summer to allow growing a second crop, like soybean or other short-season summer annuals. As cover crops, research has shown these winter oilseeds prevent soil erosion, absorb excess soil nitrogen and phosphorus that might otherwise contaminate ground and surface water. They also suppress early-season weed growth.

Both camelina and pennycress belong to the mustard plant fam-

ily (Brassicaceae) and are closely related to canola. Camelina has several uses as both a food and industrial oil. Camelina was first introduced as a source of oil for biofuels, especially aviation fuel, which has been successfully tested in commercial (United Airlines) and military jets. However, because camelina oil is high in alpha-linolenic acid (an omega3 fatty acid) and vitamin E, it can also be used as a heart-healthy cooking oil, with the unique added feature of having a higher “smoke point” temperature than other vegetable oils used for cooking. Ah, so keep your deep fryers handy!

with a small chisel plow.

Cows were fed a TMR that included corn silage, alfalfa silage, corn, expelled soybean meal, vitamins and minerals.

The straw pack cows had similar milk, fat, and protein production than the compost bedded pack cows (see accompanying table).

Surprisingly, there were no differences in production between the two winter housing groups of organic cows for milk production or somatic cell score. The groups of cows also had similar dry matter intake,

indicating that the cows that were housed on straw packs did not require more feed than cows housed in the compost bedded pack barn.

Across the winter seasons, there were no differences for body weight or body condition score for dairy cows. For animal cleanliness, the cows housed on straw packs had udders that were cleaner than cows housed in compost bedded packs (udder hygiene score of 1.45 versus 1.73).

Milk revenue and feed

cost were not different for the housing systems.

Labor and bedding costs were lower and net return was higher for the outwintering system. The outdoor straw pack had a $1.42/cow/day net return advantage over the compost bedded pack barn. The $1.42/cow/day net return advantage for the outwintering system translates to $19,880 in increased net return for a 100-cow dairy operation over a 140-day winter season. The net return was greater for the first year of study com-

pared with the second and third year, and differences in profitability between years were driven by variation in feed costs and milk revenue. Economically, animals in colder climates may require about 10 to 30% more feed for the season compared with animals kept in a confinement freestall barn, so improvements in animal health and welfare from outwintering will need to exceed increased feed costs if outwintering is to be a profitable option.

cress that are agronomically friendly and contain similar seed oil characteristics as canola. These new varieties are being tested

by Agricultural Research Service researchers at the Morris Soils Lab. The bonus feature of camelina is that it flowers early in the spring. This provides a food source for pollinators such as honey that produce edible oil. bees at a time during the Camelina is further year when bees become along in development active but there is very than pennycress and is little else flowering on the currently grown as a cover agricultural landscape to crop and/or oilseed crop adequately feed them. for specialty markets.

The Southern MinnesoAcreage is currently small ta Beet Sugar Cooperative but likely to expand, espe- encouraged its members cially as markets for its to plant cover crops by oil develop. Furthermore, offering a cash incentive. the University of Minne- According to Todd Gesesota researchers who col- lius, Vice President of Ag, laborate with Gesch and who was interviewed on Forcella are developing the episode, sugar beet new varieties of penny- cooperative members who

grew a cover crop received about $50 per acre additional profit. Now, about 87 percent of the Cooperative’s sugar beet acreage uses cover crops. Novel oilseeds like camelina and pennycress could potentially build on those benefits even more.

The Prairie Sportsman episode brought together the sugar beet producers’ dilemma with a solution from cutting-edge research being conducted at the Soils Lab. This is what USDA’s Agricultural Research Service does best: find solutions to agricultural problems affecting Americans every day from field to table.

The seven minute episode of Prairie Sportsman is available on https:// www.pioneer.org/prairiesportsman/.

As cover crops, research has shown these winter oilseeds prevent soil erosion, absorb excess soil nitrogen and phosphorus that might otherwise contaminate ground and surface water.

Currently, pennycress oil is non-edible because of certain anti-nutritional properties. However, it shows promise in making biodiesel, bioplastics and industrial lubricants. Scientists from the University of Minnesota who work closely with the Soils Lab in Morris are breeding and selecting pennycress lines

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2019 Farm Section

The Stevens County Times

Saturday, March 9, 2019 7

Mowing the pasture, removing the weeds could be automatic

By Rae Yost Stevens County Times It sounds a bit like science fiction but it’s not.

Eric Buchanan and Mike Reese of the West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris are part of a team working on an automated mower that can cut weeds in a pasture. The automated mower would be powered by solar energy and would be programmed to move about the pasture and cut the weeds without a driver and without remote control.

The next step in research and development could be a machine that removes weeds from a crop field all by itself.

The WCROC members are working with team members from the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities and Toro manufacturing in the Twin Cities.

Because WCROC has a dairy herd in a pasture and because of its related livestock and crop research, it understands the importance of weed control in pastures.

“It’s not normally a high priority area for weed control,” Buchanan said of pastures. But when pastures harbor weeds seeds from those weeds can spread to crop fields, he said. Also, livestock that graze in pastures need good quality grass and not weeds, he said.

But why would a farmer want an automated mower?

Reese said “Cost avoidance.”

If a farmer can use an automated mower in a pasture, that farmer is saving time, Reese said.

“They can spend more of their time on management,” Reese said.

Farmers can also spend less money on herbicides to control weeds, Reese said.

For farmers who are using organic pastures for their herds, an automatic mower could be a good choice for weed control, Buchanan and Reese said.

The pair said more farmers are also interested in reducing their carbon footprint. A solar-powered

WCROC photo

The West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC) is leading a new project to develop autonomous vehicles for controlling weeds in pastures and row crops. machine would need to be able to remove the weeds without damaging the crop.

Such a machine could work 24/7 in fields, Buchanan and Reese said.

“We’re just scratching the surface…,” Reese said of developing applications for automated agriculture machines.

– MIKE REESE, West Central They’ve been fortunate Research and Outreach Center to be partners in innovations such as the automated mower project, Reese An automated mower and Buchanan said. The piece of equipment helps to reduce a farmer’s carbon for the pasture could lead experiments and research footprint, they said. to an automated machine at WCROC will result in A model of the automat- that removes weeds from practical applications for ed mower could be avail- row crops. That kind of farmers, they said. able for viewing at the annual horticulture night at WCROC gardens in July.

It’s (pastures are) not normally a high priority area for weed control.

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8 Saturday, March 9, 2019

2019 Farm Section

The Stevens County Times

In a predicament with pollinators

By Russ Gesch, Frank Forcella, and Beth Burmeister USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Morris As the leaves start to change color in the fall and the temperature starts to drop, many Midwesterners make plans to go “South” for the winter.

Many Midwestern honey producers transport their bee colonies to warmer climates as well.

However, the honey bees do not get a winter vacation: they’ll play a vital part in pollinating the flowers of almond orchards in California, cherry trees in the Pacific Northwest, melons in Texas and cucumbers in the Gulf Coast.

These busy honey bees won’t return to the Midwest until early April or May. The problem is that at this time there will be few flowers blooming for them to feed on.

Researchers at the USDA-Agricultural Research Service-North Central Soil Conservation Laboratory, or Soils Lab, in Morris demonstrated that several of the new oilseeds crops they are developing attract an abundance and diversity of pollinating insects, including honey bees.

Researchers have shown that several of these oilseeds (for example, cuphea, echium, borage, and camelina), while flowering, produce enough pollen and nectar on just 2.5 acres to support one or more honey bee colonies for an entire year.

In turn, the bees and other pollinators bolster the yields of these oilseed crops to increase economic returns. Researchers at the Soils Lab have also shown that when used in rotation, these new/alternative oilseeds improved wheat, corn and soybean yields.

The research is already generating interest, too. Honey bee producers in Minnesota and orchard growers in California have asked the Soils Lab for seed of some of these specialty oilseeds, which they want to grow on their farms to help attract and retain pollinators while keeping them healthy.

In addition to agricultural uses, the specialty oilseeds offer

Honey bee visits a camelina flower.

Camelina is one of the oilseed crops being studied by researchers at the USDA-Agricultural Research Service-North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory.

Winter camelina flowers in mid-May, providing nutrition for pollinators often times before other blooming flowers are available on the agricultural landscape.

Photo by Jim Eklund

Below: Trucks haul transient colonies of honey bees back to the Midwest from the West and the Gulf Coasts in the spring when there is little natural forage for the bees. Researchers at the USDAAgricultural Research Service-North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory are developing oilseed crops that flower in early spring when bees typically begin to arrive; thus, serving as both food for bees and as a cash crop. This particular load of honey bees returned to Starbuck.

Photo by Dean Peterson

farmers and rural communities’ new economic opportunities. Take, for example, cuphea.

It produces a special type of oil that can replace imported tropical plant oils. A world-renowned cosmetic/personal care product manufacturer based in Minnesota has shown great interest in cuphea and recently received approval to use its oil in some of the company’s personal-care products. This new market has the potential to create a demand for several thousand acres of cuphea pro-

duction in the United States.

As new markets expand, growing demand for oilseed crops will in turn provide nutrition and prime habitat for returning honey bees. As the day light lengthens and temperature rises, honey bee producers will prepare to return the honey bees to the Midwest.

With the help of researchers at the Soils Lab and farmers growing oilseeds, these hardworking pollinators will have a buffet of new oilseed crops waiting for them.

Finishing a late harvest

Brooke Kern/Stevens County Times

A farmer near Chokio harvests soybeans in December 2018. The weather created challenges for farmers during the fall 2018 harvest.

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2019 Farm Section

The Stevens County Times

Saturday, March 9, 2019 9

Working to address mental health needs in agriculture

By Rae Yost Stevens County Times He works with it firsthand daily. She is reading the research and the reports and wants to do more.

The mental well being of farmers is an important issue for counselor Ted Matthews of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and Amy Mondloch, the community program administrator for the Center for Small Towns at the University of Minnesota Morris.

Low crop prices, increased expenses and other economic challenges have caused an increased need in mental health services for farmers and agriculture workers, statistics from the Center for Disease Control and various mental health agencies have reported.

FarmAid said on its website in 2018, it had a 30 percent increase in calls to its hotline in 2018. A University of Minnesota study of farm trends in suicide and homocide from 19922010 published in June 2018 in the “Journal for Rural Health” noted that suicide prevention programs should be explored for the agriculture industry.

Mondloch grew up on a farm.

Although she’s worked in a variety of projects and issues in the non-profit world, she’s always been interested in the agriculture world because of her roots.

Not along ago, a colleague working on more traditional

A farmer may not seek help because he doesn’t believe he’s suicidal or “not that bad,” Matthews said. But, the same farmer could be at risk for worsening mental health, Matthews said.

Matthews and Mondloch want to obtain more help for farmers through their respective positions.

Matthews has been advocating for legislative money which would train those working with farmers who are on the frontlines.

Mondloch is working on a grant which she and the Center AMY MONDLOCH would use to investigate agencies and programs that work with farmers and mental health farm issues told her he’s had to issues in order to connect the develop mental health counsel- resources and share the inforing skills so he can work with mation. farmers with mental health The research would mean issues, Mondloch said. that “...people don’t need to “That was not in his job reinvent the wheel,” Mondloch description,” she said. said.

Matthews has been providing Often when programs and mental health counseling for organizations are working farmers and agriculture service directly with an issue, they providers since 1993. don’t have time to investigate While Matthews’ phone rings who else is out there working frequently with farmers who on the same issue, Mondloch ask for help, there are others said. who aren’t seeking that help.

“One of the important things There is still a stigma sur- CST does is works with people rounding mental health issues, on the ground,” Mondloch said.

Matthews said. “It’s mental Mondloch knows “there is health, not mental illness,” very little funding in rural areas Matthews said of what should for mental health services.” be the focus. “How can I be She’s hoping that CST mentally healthier or happier,” research can help change that are the quesitons farmers can and lead to other important legislation. focus on, he said.

...there is very little funding in rural areas for mental health services.

Matthews said the $10 million mental health funding over five years for agriculture proposed now at the state level will be a big help. He’s hopeful the money will be available this year. It was close last year, Matthews said.

The key is to use that money wisely, he said.

“This could go toward training a ton of people,” Matthews said.

“We don’t need thousands of psychiatrists,” Matthews said.

“We need people who recognize the warning signs” Bankers, elevator managers, clergy and similar people who work and see farmers can be trained to help, Matthews said.

The $10 million could also fund two people to do what he does, because at 71, he can’t continue to work like he does indefinitely, Matthews said.

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2019 Farm Section

10 Saturday, March 9, 2019

The Stevens County Times

Are you ready for summer? Nutritional management may beat heat stress

By P.E. Urriola, G.C. Shurson, and L.J. Johnston University of Minnesota Editor’s note: This story is reprinted with permission from “National Hog Farmer” magazine.

Summer is rapidly approaching and this means hot and humid days. Heat stress causes losses estimated at $300 million for pork producers in the US. Therefore, it is important that we review the impact of heat stress on physiological functions, describe its implications to animal productivity, and suggest nutritional strategies to mitigate these negative effects.

There are numerous management practices that also play important roles in helping relieve heat stress on farms. However, in this article we will focus on nutritional interventions that are useful when heat may overwhelm other management practices.

Effect of environment on pig performance The ability of pigs to regulate body temperature depends on the balance between heat production

and heat losses. As ambient temperature decreases below the lower critical temperature (LCT), heat production and heat conservation increases to maintain body temperature. As ambient temperature increases above the upper critical temperature (UCT) the ability of pigs to dissipate heat decreases and body temperature increases. The temperature between the lower critical temperature and the upper critical temperature is the thermoneutral zone. In the thermoneutral zone, pigs can adequately balance heat production and heat losses so that they remain comfortable. At temperatures in the thermoneutral zone, heat production is the consequence of using metabolizable energy for maintenance and productive processes such as growth.

Muscle and fat deposition occur as the pig grows. These productive processes generate heat and some of this heat must be lost for the pig to remain comfortable, especially under heat stress

conditions. The amount of heat generated is dependent on the process for which energy is utilized (greater in muscle deposition than fat deposition) and the dietary origin of the energy. The efficiency of energy utilization (ratio between metabolizable energy and net energy) is lowest for muscle deposition (about 60%) and greatest for fat deposition (about 80%). Likewise, dietary source of energy also impacts energy efficiency. Efficiency of utilization of dietary energy is greatest for dietary lipids (90%), intermediate for starch (82%) and lowest

for crude protein (60%) and dietary fiber (60%).

From the pig’s perspective, greater efficiency of energy utilization means there will be less heat that needs to be lost and greater chances to remain at comfort in hot conditions.

Dietary interventions to help pigs cope with summer heat The practical implication of these differences in dietary energy sources is that during summer when heat dissipation is compromised, pigs benefit from modifying the source of dietary energy so that they have less heat to lose. Ideally, sum-

mer diets would contain greater energy from lipids and starch and less energy from protein and fiber.

This can be accomplished by using highly digestible sources of protein that closely match the amino acid requirement of pigs and decreasing use of low energy density ingredients (Table 1).

Heat stress is the condition when pigs cannot balance heat production and losses. The physiological effects of heat stress are diverse and still under investigation. There is evidence that heat stress increases permeability of the gut to pathogens, decreases insulin sensitivity, and has multiple effects on amino acid metabolism. Heat stress of pregnant sows can have long-lasting effects on the resulting piglets after farrowing. Therefore, mitigation strategies which include modifying the pig’s environment and specially formulating diets for summer heat stress conditions can be helpful. Dietary modifications for summer include shifting ingredient choic-

es as shown in Table 1.

Other dietary modifications that show potential to help pigs cope with heat stress conditions include addition of selenium or zinc. A new technique of liquid chromatography mass spectroscopy used at the University of Minnesota has demonstrated that there are additional changes to metabolism with potential for development of more effective interventions. However, the effectiveness of these newer dietary manipulations is still to be proven.

The University of Minnesota has also developed a model of environmental heat stress in near-commercial conditions that is effective in simulating summer growth conditions and can be used to test manipulations to help pigs cope with summer heat.

In summary, hot days are approaching; diet modification is one tool that should be paired to other tools such as ventilation, water supply, and cooling systems for a comprehensive management of heat stress.

Pasture-based dairy cattle have daily schedules too

By Glenda Pereira and Brad Heins West Central Research and Outreach Center The excitement of releasing dairy animals to pasture every spring once the grass grows, never gets old. The sun has been shining and forages have been proliferating in the

west central part of Minnesota. At the West Central Outreach and Research Center in Morris all dairy animals other than calves born this spring, are on pasture.

As one of the few grazing and organic dairy research herds in the country, precision dairy

technologies have been used to study behaviors of pasture-based dairy cattle and of course to help manage estrus, transition and health associated behaviors. The technologies installed at the research herd collect data continuously throughout the day, month and year.

To retrieve the data so it can be used in real-time, solar powered routers may be utilized. Similarly, data can be collected twice a day once cows return to the milking parlor. The data can then be viewed on a computer system, on a website and some companies have applications for mobile devices.

Currently, a project is occurring where cattle wear a fancy (non-show) halter and pedometers to determine rumination, feed intake, water intake and locomotion.

The Rumiwatch halter from Switzerland uses an oilfilled silicone tube with a built-in pressure sensor.

The pressure difference caused by jaw movement, generates a signal which is transmitted to a box on the side of the noseband and this data can be

downloaded. This halter is marketed for research, as the cost and the amount of data retrieved is probably not as practical to dairy producers.

Previous research has determined that most pasture-based dairy cattle graze for 8 to 10 hours per day and do so in bouts of

1.5 to 2 hours, and repeat that 4 to 5 times throughout the day. Once cattle go to the pasture from the milking parlor, they tend to consume a large portion of their dry matter intake for the day. Typically, cattle will graze during the

CATTLE: Page C11

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2019 Farm Section

The Stevens County Times

Saturday, March 9, 2019 11

Asking much from our thin layer of soil

By Jane Johnson USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Morris Soil – the thin layer that stands between us and starvation” is a quote I attribute to Dr. William Larson. But others also express similar sentiments – like Charles E. Kellogg in the USDA Year Book of Agriculture, 1938 when he wrote “…There can be no life without soil and no soil without life.”

The staff at the USDA-Agricultural Research Service’s North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory or “Soils’ Lab” for short have been working to safeguard soil for 60+ years.

We ask a lot of our soil.

Granted, food can be harvested from the ocean or grown hydroponically but the basic food staples – rice, corn, wheat, and legumes - eaten around the world are grown on soil. It is hardly a stretch to think of soil as a thin layer on our planet’s surface that prevents starvation.

Food is only one of the many things we ask soil to produce or provide. It also filters water and provides shelter and habitat to vast microbial and invertebrate communities.

Society

CATTLE From Page C10

early morning and late afternoon, beginning at sunrise and ending around sunset. In the Midwest, fly pressure, humidity as well as the loss of moisture in certain forages (determining digestibility and palatability) can affect when cattle choose to graze.

Even social hierarchy can determine when and how fast cattle tend to graze.

Dominant cattle tend to

depends on soilMorris, to feed its covered with crop residue Minnesota 56267 livestock, produce natural and adding cover crops are fibers (e.g., cotton, linen, examples of management hemp) and fuel (e.g., bio- options to reduce loss and diesel, oils, and ethanol). increase building topsoil.

Soil availability and proErosion or soil moveBrad Heins and ventional steers were fed a ductivity are challenged ment happens every time Elizabeth Bjorklund diet of 80 percent concenby urbanizationWest and its Reasearch the soil tilled.

The Central trateis and 20 percent Center, roughage accompanyingand Outreach roads, physical received processand of tilling of Minnesota, Component E-S implants. parking lots University and buildalong with gravity moves Morris The organic steers were ings. Soil under roads, the soil particles downfed a diet of organic corn, buildings and parking lots hill. The more aggressive With the extreme organic corn silage, and at in the can’t provide drought food, conditions feed, the tillage, the more least 30 percent of soil their during diet consisted of organic fiber or fuel. Upper WhileMidwest this can be moved.

Over time, 2012, many dairy produc- pasture during the grazing challenge is beyond the the hill top turns grey or ers continue to be worried season. The grass-only scope of the about Soilshigh Lab’s tanhay as the black topgrain and steersrich grazed pasture durresearch, it means pro- producsoil is moved to the botprices. Therefore, ing the grazing season and ers are soil reducing highContinue quality hay tecting the remaining tomtheof were the fed hill. amount of grain fed to cat- or hay silage during the is critical. the process long enough tle to reduce feed costs and non-grazing season. The Soil that goesmaintain uncovered andAt theconventional topsoil at steers the botprofitability. were is at risk of erosion. tom of the hill gets buried the West Snow Central Research sent to slaughter July 24, 2012 to Tillage the Tysonoften Fresh has kept theandsoilOutreach cov- Center’s with subsoil. have Meats in Dakota City, ered for much organic of the dairy, 2019 weburies the plant crop residue recently completed a study Neb. and the organic and winter, but aswhere that we snow as well, leaving the soil evaluated the grass-only steers were sent melts, the soil can to Meats, windCannon and effects of get growth,more meat prone to Lorentz quality profitability of impacts. carried off the hill orand move water Falls, Minn. Harveston Sept. 19, conventionally raised and Nov. 13, 2012, down slope by melting ing crop2012 residue - whethdairy steers compared to respectively. Strip loins waters and spring rains. er for feed, bedding or to organically raised dairy were collected for a conActivities suchsteers. as preparmake - may This project was ethanol sumer taste panel,leave which funded by aalso North the Centralsoil ing the seed bed can exposed. allowed 100 beefAlso, congraduate student sumers to rate theis beef for contribute to SARE soil losses. the plant material not grant. liking and flavor.

An erosion rate of 5 tons recycledoverall into soil organic There is an increase in Profit was defined to of soil per acre per yearfor organic matter. include revenues and global demand can translate to removing Soil expenses organic matter products, especially grassfor beef value, fed and finished.includes Bull feed cost, pasture cost, an inch of topsoil within decomposing calves may represent a health cost and yardage. several decades.

This is plant or animal materials potential additional source The table has results for much faster than the time and theconventional microbialdairy organof revenue for organic steers it takes to rebuild an inch isms (fungi, dairy producers. compared tobacterial, organic and Currently, that with the high grass-onlyresponsible dairy steers. of topsoil. Consider nematodes) price of organic in The grass-only dairypossteers it can take over 100 years grains for the decay.

Many the United States, the male had greater days to slaughto rebuild just one inch itive soil properties come offspring of organic ter, lower slaughter of lost top soil.

Reducing from this organic matter.

Holstein and crossbred weights, and had lower dairythe cattle represent tillage, keeping soil The aamount crop resiaverage of daily gains than

Feeding dairy steers on pasture, grain or no grain?

potential resource for pas- conventional steers. ture-raised beef in the Average daily gains from Midwest. birth (lb/day) were 2.52 graze on the best tend graze following Theforages research study used to(conventional), 1.79 (organbull amounts calves bornthe from and for shorter milking grazic), and times, 1.35 (grass-only).

March May 2011 fromforAs almost expected, the steersfull fed of times, having a to larger ing the WCROC dairy, and they higher amounts of grain bite rate, feeding faster hour at 8:00 am and 8:00 were subsequently evalu- and concentrate had carthan less dominant cattle. pm (see Figure Catated for growth, meat qualcasses with 2). greater fat A couple of ity, weeks agoacceptabiliconsumer thickness, larger rib-eye tle don’t ruminate and the halters were to graze ty, andput profitability over area, and higher yield at the same time, 14 to 20 months. grades than steers fed the test. Belowtheisnext a sumand therefore, the of two bulldaily calves were higher amounts pasmary (Figure The 2), of inverted.

Interestingassigned to one ofare three ture. time budgets, minutes groups at birth: convenThe fat from the grassly enough, these cattle per hour of the dayorganic that (pasture only steers was higher in tional, seem to graze throughout pasture-basedplus dairy catconcentrate), and Omega-3 fatty acid and the(100entire however, lower day; in monounsaturated tle grazed andorganic-grass ruminated.only percent pasture). con- and saturated summer temperatures fat, which The organic research herd The

milks twice a day at 6:30 am and 4:30 pm, therefore cattle are brought up to the milking parlor and back to the pasture twice a day. As suspected, cattle

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Photo by Janeille Schaubhut

Maninder Walia (left) and Steve Wagner (right) discussed the changes in agriculture and the continued need for agricultural research at 60th anniversary celebration for the USDA-Agricultural Research Service-North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory (Soils Lab) last summer. may

indicate

potential

it per steer ($593 vs. $442)

make a profit from feeding

For more information,

healthneeded benefits ensure of grass- inputs comparedguard to conventional organicmatter dairy steers ver- to contact Brad ofHeins, effort take care the soil organic due fed beef. Consumers who steers because of lower sus selling them to conven- Assistant Professor, soil so it can take care and avoid erosion.

We’re are available to sustain rated the beef found no sig- feed costs, mainly pasture. tional markets. The most Organic Dairy Manageus for seeking to forof soil organic matter lev- also nificant difference for Therefore, a low grain strategies important point reducment,generations 320-589-1711 to or overall liking for the con- exceed ration may reduce feed ing inputs rate and increasing come. hein0106@umn.edu improve the success els can sometimes ventional and organic beef. costs without sacrificing ofprofits organic dairy For more information and benefits coverincrops what’s needed to guard The organic beef had sig- profit in an organic dairy systems is to produce high on the Soils Lab research as well as develop douagainst wind and water nificantly higher flavor lik- system, assuming the quality forages and maxigo onto https://www.ars. strategies erosion. ing than the conventional grass-fed ble-cropping steers can be mize dry matter intake in the northern usda.gov/midwest-area/ At However, the Soils Lab, wemarketed aim that beef. consumers at a work premium pasture. rated the grass-onlyhow beef much price based on thelike producsoils Minnesota. It’s morris-mn/soil-manageto understand the lowest in overall liking tion system. residue is needed to safe- all part of our collective ment-research/. and flavor.

The conventional steers For profitability, grain had some advantage over costs were substantially the grass-only steers, and higher for the from organic11 the dairy Because grazing is the to ruminate p.m.conventional steers, and therefore, steers grew much faster proceeding grazing and main feeding behavior of resulted in a net loss per and required less time to dairy catslowly decrease The ruminasteer (-$644/steer). slaughter.pasture-based However, grasstle, temperature, forage tion a.m. higher time cost of around production 1 only steers required fewer for the organic is resources than conventionand grazing ability, where they steers spend time mass due to the extremely high al steers. Organic dairy often influence their daily resting. value of organic corn producers trying to seek ($15.90/bushel, January relief from high grain 2013).

The grass-only prices, with a little “extra” steers had the highest prof- pasture may be able to

may not have reached a consistently high temperature, and cattle may still feel comfortable grazing all day. During the nighttime, cattle tend

behaviors. More information about grazing dairy cattle and the use of halters and other technologies will be available in the near future.

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2019 Farm Section

12 Saturday, March 9, 2019

The Stevens County Times

Optimism, challenges in the dairy industry B etween low prices for milk and trade challenges, times are tough for our dairy farmers. While the new farm bill won’t solve all the industry’s problems, it will help dairy farmers weather the storm.

The dairy section of the farm bill was the best part of the legislation, but now it’s time to ensure successful

REP. COLLIN

PETERSON D-Minnesota



implementation. I have been talking to USDA to encourage them to get the program out quickly.

With the recent

passage of our Farm Bill, the law now provides expanded, affordable risk management options for our dairy farmers.

The 2014 farm bill didn’t work for dairy farmers, but there are a lot of improvements in the 2018 bill. Dairy farmers came out ahead in the bill. We replaced the Margin Protection Program (MPP) with Dairy

Margin Coverage (DMC) to provide more flexibility for operations of all sizes. The program could sell itself, featuring a margin of $9.50 that covers your first five million pounds for around $5,000. Dairy can now take full advantage of Risk Management Agency (RMA) crop insurance products and can use them with DMC. This is a good option to consider if an

operation has grown since it established production history. If implemented correctly, the farm bill will provide risk management options that will help young people get started in dairy.

As Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, I had a hearing with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue recently, where we talked about the

need to get Dairy Margin Coverage rolled out soon.

I asked Secretary Perdue about an implementation timeline and he told me sign-up should start this summer. That is later than people want to hear, and I am encouraging USDA to get things out as soon as possible. The good news is that payments, when they do come, will be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2019.

WCROC research shows value of crossbreeding

By Glenda Pereira M.S. and Brad Heins Ph.D. West Central Research and Outreach Center Introduction to crossbreeding The ideal dairy cow should produce high fat and protein, have a calf without any trouble and produce a calf regularly, maintain superior fertility, a functional udder, good feet and legs while being resistant to health problems and mastitis. If a cow has these traits, she should have a long productive life.

Trouble free cows are often unrecognized by producers because they are never in the sick pen.

Crossbreeding has been applied in other species such as swine and poultry to introduce hybrid vigor.

In these species, improvements have been made to decrease mortality, increase gain to feed efficiency and meat and carcass quality traits, improving overall profitability. To benefit from crossbreeding, sires of higher genetic merit must be utilized to retain the best traits of the parent breeds. In dairy cattle, breeding Holstein heifers and cows to Jersey bulls has been a popular method of crossbreeding in the U.S. as this makes up a high percentage of the current population of lactating crossbreds. However, crossbreeding with Mont-

béliarde, Normande, and Viking Red sires became a trend in the early 2000s as these breeds can provide characteristics which might be beneficial to high producing dairy herds.

Research with cooperating farmers The University of Minnesota worked with seven California dairies from 2000 to 2010 and compared purebred Holstein cows to Normande x Holstein, Montbéliarde x Holstein and Scandinavian Red x Holstein crossbred cows for high producing herds. All three groups of crossbred cows had lower 305-day fat plus protein production compared to Holsteins across lactations, but this difference was small between Holsteins and the Montbéliarde x Holstein cows (-24 kg) and Scandinavian Red x Holstein cows (-29 kg). The crossbred groups were all consistently superior to the Holsteins for fertility across the first five lactations, potentially due to the reduced calving difficulty and stillbirths observed for the crossbreds. Twenty-five percent of Holsteins did not calve a second time, whereas only 11% to 15% of crossbreds did not calve a second time. Montbéliarde x Holstein and Scandinavian Red x Holstein crossbred cows had 50% to 44%,

respectively, more lifetime profit per cow and more profit per day than Holsteins, (Table 1). Because Normande x Holstein cows had 26% greater lifetime profit per cow, but had 6.7% less profit per day than Holsteins, this crossbreeding rotation is not as recommended for high producing dairy herds like the ones utilized in this research study.

Research conducted with the University of Minnesota dairy herds Geneticists at the University of Minnesota have also been utilizing crossbreeding with Montbéliarde and Viking Red sires at the University of Minnesota’s two dairy research herds since the early 2000s. The first dairy herd is located in the middle of the city of St. Paul on the University of Minnesota campus where 100 milking cows are maintained in a tie-stall barn and compost bedded pack barn year round. This herd consists of purebred Holsteins and ProCROSS crossbreds. The second dairy is located in Morris, Minnesota at the West Central Research and Outreach Center. There are 150 organic cows and 150

low-input conventional cows, and both herds include purebred Holsteins, ProCROSS crossbreds (MVH) and a threebreed cross of Normande x Jersey x Viking Red (NJV). During the summer grazing season (May to October) organic cows are on pasture and supplemented daily with 2.72 kg of corn per cow, and low-input cows are fed a total mixed ration in an outdoor confinement drylot. During the winter season (November to April) all cows were fed a total mixed ration consisting of corn silage, alfalfa haylage, corn, soybean meal, and minerals in an outwintering lot and a compost barn.

Because cattle in this herd consume pasture, Normande and Jersey breeds are utilized in this herd, but not in the St. Paul herd.

Normande and Jersey cattle can consume forages and still produce adequate amounts of milk with high fat and protein.

Morris dairy research In addition to purebred Holsteins and ProCROSS crossbreds (MVH), there is another 3-breed rotation, (Figure 2), using Normande, Viking Red, and

Jersey breeds (no Holstein, NJV) at the dairy in Morris.

Both crossbred groups will be compared to Holstein herd mates in the future as the number of cows in the crossbreeding systems continue to grow. Therefore, only preliminary results will be presented.

So far, the Jersey-sired and Viking Red-sired crossbred cows have lower 305-day fat plus protein production compared to Holsteins during first lactation. The Viking Red crossbreds were lower for fat plus protein than other crossbred sired cows because the Viking Red cows were from dams that were 50% Jersey, and therefore, the Jersey influence may have caused the lower production, which was observed in the Jersey-sired crossbreds.

However, the Montbéliarde and Normande-sired crossbred cows were similar to their Holstein herd mates for fat plus protein production during first lactation. As expected from the previous studies conducted in California and in Minnesota, the Viking Red, Montbéliarde, and Normande-sired crossbred cows showed numerical advantage for fertility

when compared with Holsteins.

Meat quality Beef consumers are becoming more curious about how and where their food comes from, in addition to the fatty acid profile of the meat they consume.

However, less research has been performed on the meat quality, amino acid profile and consumer preference of crossbred dairy steers especially on a grass based diet. Therefore, in 2016 at the Morris dairy, purebred Holsteins, MVH crossbreds, and NJV crossbred dairy steers were finished on winter rye and winter wheat pastures.

Following slaughter, the meat was evaluated for amino acid profiles and a consumer taste study was conducted to determine consumer acceptability.

Fat from crossbred steers had 13% greater omega-3 fatty acids and an omega6/3 ratio that was 14% lower in fat, when compared to Holstein steers. In addition, steak from crossbreeds had greater overall liking than Holstein steers as determined by consumers.

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2019 Farm Section

The Stevens County Times

CROSSBREED From Page C12

Precision technology Rumination and activity monitors have gained interest by producers who want to manage their dairy cattle more closely, however most research has been done with purebred Holstein cattle in confined systems. As the number of crossbred dairy cattle increases in the U.S., research on the activity and rumination time for crossbreds could be beneficial to producers. For this study, 114 purebred Holstein cows, 248 MVH crossbreds, and 167 NVJ crossbreds from the Morris herd were evaluated for total average rumination time. HR-LD Tags (SCR Engineers Ltd., Netanya, Israel) were used to record rumination time in total minutes per day.

Similar rumination time was reported for all breed groups evaluated: purebred Holsteins: 521 min/d, MVH: 513 min/d, NJV: 513 min/d.

Future projects The University of Minnesota will continue to pursue studies with crossbred cattle of the breed rotations mentioned throughout the article. Future projects to keep an eye out for include creating genomic predictions for crossbreds, determining the most profitable crossbred for grazing in the Midwest, and lactation curves of purebred Holsteins compared to crossbreds.

Conclusions Much of the research at the University of Minnesota has pertained to crossbreeding in dairy cattle and exploring alternative ways for producers to improve calving ease, fertility, health, and survival of cows. When compared to purebred Holsteins, crossbreds are superior for fertility, survival, and productive life.

However, we must not forget that we need high quality purebreds to have high quality crossbreds.

Of course, the use of a specific breed depends on each producer’s management system, but regardless of breeds, the ideal dairy cow should have a good productive life if she has high fat and protein, excellent fertility and the ability to produce a calf regularly, functional udder and feet and legs, and low prevalence of health problems. As we think ahead into the future, where sustainability and profitability will need to be highly considered, the ideal dairy cow will also need to have a smaller body size and efficient conversion of feed to milk.

Therefore, research with different breeds and crossbred rotations is important to producers who are seeking alternative methods of dairy farming. Attending an open house like the one offered in Oakdale or visiting the University of Minnesota dairy herds is a must when considering the utilization of ProCROSS or grazing crossbred cattle.

Saturday, March 9, 2019 13

What about breeding for A2 milk?

By Brad Heins and Glenda Pereira West Central Research and Outreach Center A2 milk appears to be all of the rage in the dairy industry today. In commercials on TV, online, at the grocery store, and even on the farm, everyone is talking about A2 milk. There are claims that this milk is easier to digest than others, but A2 milk has also been reported to improve health and lower the risk factor for some diseases. Many of these claims have not been proven by science, so let’s dig a little deeper into this A2 phenomenon.

What is A2 milk? Beta-casein, which makes up 30% of milk protein, exists in many forms. The two most common forms are A1 and A2. A2 milk only contains the A2 variant of beta-casein protein, instead of the A1 form. Cows with the A2 gene only produce A2 milk.

Jersey, Guernsey, Normande, and Brown Swiss breeds have a higher percentage of A2 genes compared to Holstein.

Some farmers have transitioned to being an A2 herd, but this can take many generations depending on the status of your herd. One way to determine the status of your herd is to test your cows and heifers. If you are already genomic testing, A2 status can be determined for an extra $5 per animal. If you choose to transition to A2, once you receive your genomic results you can determine which cows and heifers to keep or cull. An A2A2 animal, bred to another A2A2 animal will always have an A2 offspring. Cows that are A1A2 or A1A1 will not produce A2 milk.

Many A.I. studs have been marketing A2 bulls, and more information can be found

online or in published bull catalogs.

The University of Minnesota’s research dairy herd in Morris, uses Holstein, Jersey, Montbéliarde, Normande and Viking Red in their breeding program. At the top of Table 1 are the A2 status of the Top 25 Net Merit Proven bulls for Holstein and Jersey and the Top Proven Montbéliarde, Normande, and Viking Red bulls available in the US. For the Normande breed, only six bulls have daughters, but the other 14 bulls are genomic only bulls. It comes as no surprise that the Holstein breed has the lowest percentage of A2 bulls in the Top 25 for Net Merit. However, the Jersey and Normande breeds have the highest percentage of A2 bulls.

During the past year, all cows and heifers were genotyped at the University of Minnesota’s research dairy herd in Morris. The A2 status of the cows and heifers in the herd is listed at the bottom of Table

1. You can see that over 50% of the Holsteins in the herd have A2A2 which was not expected because this trait was not selected for. The 1964 genetic line Holsteins had a lower percentage of animals that were A2A2 at 26%. Uniquely, the crossbred cows and heifers ranged from 36 to 50% of animals that were A2A2, as expected.

But why should you care about A2 milk? Well, if farmers are being paid a premium for producing A2 milk, then you might consider selecting your herd for A2A2 animals and even start using A2A2 bulls. However, remember that selecting from the top Net Merit bulls is essential to maximize farm profitability, so be sure to check out that list when placing an emphasis on A2 genetics. The future will tell if A2 milk is just a fad or if it will permanently have a seat at the table of the dairy industry.

Soil health studies share farmer experience, knowledge From the Sustainable Farming Association Farmers can turn to a new set of case studies to learn about the experiences of southwest Minnesota farmers in adopting soil health practices.

University of Minnesota research assistant Kathy Dooley visited farms and interviewed farmers in late 2018 to develop case study profiles of nine farms in southwestern Minnesota. Farmers were selected to participate in the project based on having at least five years of experience incorporating soil health principles into their production practices.

“These case studies should be a real help to farmers who are new to soil health practices, cover crops and livestock. These farmers’ willingness to share their knowledge provides excellent networking opportunities,” said Theresa

Keaveny, executive director of the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota.

Farmers interested in adopting new practices to increase soil health and long-term sustainability can use these case studies to learn from others and connect with experienced producers.

The practices described in the case studies include keeping living roots in the soil, keeping the soil covered, using diverse crop rotations, and reducing soil disturbance. In addition, many of the participating farms integrate livestock into their systems.

According to Dean Current, program director for the Center for Integrated Natural Resources and AgriculturalManagement, “We plan to expand our current case studies with additional data and into new farming options such as agroforest-

ry in the future.”

The soil health case studies report is available online at z.umn.edu/SoilHealthCaseStudies. In the future, the farm profiles will also be listed in an online database with more detailed information, such as soil test results.

The case studies were developed through a partnership between the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota (SFA), the University of Minnesota Extension’s Southwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership (SWRSDP) and the University of Minnesota’s Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management (CINRAM). The research project was completed by Kathy Dooley, Research Assistant through the University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and Rural Affairs (CURA).

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2019 Farm Section

14 Saturday, March 9, 2019

The Stevens County Times

Identifying challenges in organic swine production

By Yuzhi Li, Lee Johnston, Brad Heins and Joel Tallaksen, West Central Research and Outreach Center, University of Minnesota, Bill Lazarus,Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, Ryan Cox, Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota and Wayne Martin, University of Minnesota Extension Organic swine production accounts for a small proportion of all organic production and economic activity. In 2016, about 17,800 organic hogs were sold for $7 million which accounts for 0.6% of the total value of organic livestock and poultry sales in the U.S. In contrast to the rapid increase in total organic production, organic swine production has not increased since 2008.

For instance, organically-certified land increased by 15% to 5 million acres, the total value of organically-certified commodities increased by 23% to $7.6 billion, and the total number of organic farms increased by 11% to 14,217 in 2016 compared with 2015. However, the number of organic pig farms actually

declined from 205 in 2014 to 151 in 2016. Many factors may restrict organic pig production, such as high cost of organic feed, challenges with disease control in the absence of antibiotics, and access to organic meat processors and markets. Besides, research in organic pigs is rare in the United States, resulting a lack of science-based information to deal with challenges in organic pig production. In many cases, organic pig farmers can only learn from each other, or learn from their experiences. As scientists at a land-grant university, we feel obligated to help underserved organic pork producers.

The first step to help organic pig farmers is to identify key issues that they face in organic pig production. To embrace the wide spectrum and complexity of potential issues in organic pig production, we formed an Organic Swine Planning Committee at the University of Minnesota. The committee consists of scientists from multiple disciplines, including swine scientists (Yuzhi Li, and Lee Johnston WCROC), an organic dairy scientist (Brad Heins – WCROC), an

agricultural economist (William Lazarus – Dept. of Applied Economics), a meat scientist (Ryan Cox – Dept. of Animal Science), a soil scientist of organic production (Paulo Pagliari – Southwest Research and Outreach Center), and an environmental scientist (Joel Tallaksen - WCROC), and an extension educator (Wayne Martin – Small Farms and Alternative Livestock Production).

This past year, the committee visited six organic pig farms in four states (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania) to identify challenges faced by organic pig farmers. To reach more organic pig farmers across the Midwestern region, the committee organized seminars for farmers and focus group meetings at the MN Organic Conference in St. Cloud, MN, the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services (MOSES) Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse, WI, and the University of Minnesota Extension Office in Rochester, MN. Through farm visits and face-to-face discussions with organic pig farmers, the committee identified some key issues in organic swine pro-

Submitted photo

Organic Swine Planning Committee members visit the Callens Farm in Minneota. duction, including: 1) challenges to maintaining pig health (parasites and scours), 2) high production costs (feed, bedding, initial investment, and return on investment), 3) inadequate resources to supply reasonably priced feed (organic protein sources and organic feed mills), 4) limited access to organic certified meat plants and markets, and 5) the lack of standardized nutritional and vaccination programs for organic pigs. While all these issues are important and

should be addressed in our future research and extension programs, the most pressing issue appears to be the limitation of access to organic meat processing plants and markets. Some farmers told us that they would have produced more organic pigs if they had access to organic meat processors and market. To address the issue of inadequate organic pork processing facilities in the Midwest, the committee will host a session at the Minnesota Association of Meat Processors (MAMP) Convention 2019 in St Cloud, MN to communicate with meat processors in the region. Other issues, such as high feed cost and parasite control, are being addressed in our research projects.

Currently, the University of Minnesota is the first land-grant university to conduct research focused on helping solve problems faced by organic pig farmers.

This project (Organic Swine Planning Project) is supported by Organic Research and Extension Initiatives (Award# 2017-5130026817) from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Integrating winter camelina into organic pig production systems Wayne Martin, University of Minnesota Extension One of the challenges in organic pork production is the high cost of organic feed, which accounts for 75 percent of total production costs. Organic pig farmers always look for alternative feed ingredients to reduce feed cost. One such potential ingredient in the Midwest is camelina meal, a by-product after crushing camelina seed for oil.

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Although winter camelina has been researched by scientists (doctors Frank Forcella and Russ Gesch) in Morris for years, it has not caught the eye of swine scientists until now. Winter camelina is an autumnsown, fast growing annual crop. Camelina requires minimal water and fertilizer, inhibits summer weeds, and can sequester unused soil nitrate from the previous crop. Integration of camelina into organic swine production may not only reduce feed cost by utilizing low cost camelina meal for organic pig production, but also protect the environment, and increase total productivity of the land by double cropping. However, integrating camelina into

organic pig production has never been explored.

In 2018, we initiated a 3-year project at the WCROC to evaluate integrating winter camelina into organic pig production systems. The goals of the project are to determine the optimal amount of camelina meal supplementation as a feed ingredient for pigs, to grow camelina on organically-certified land with a double-crop system, to evaluate camelina’s impact on yield, cost, and return of the organic-certified land, and to determine effects of dietary camelina meal on growth performance and meat quality of pigs raised under organic conditions. Finally, we will conduct an economic anal-

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ysis and life cycle assessment to compare two organic swine-cropping systems with and without camelina integration. This project attempts to utilize a systematic approach to address barriers to organic swine production.

We planted 20 acres of camelina on organic-certified land at the WCROC after chopping corn for silage last fall. The planting date for camelina was Oct. 1st of 2018, which was about a week later than we expected due to excessive rain, causing the soil to be too wet for planting.

For double cropping purposes, camelina was seeded such that a skip row was left every 30 inches to allow seeding soybean next spring. We observed that camelina germinated and emerged before the first snow fall. We expect

that camelina will resume growing in the spring and mature by early summer of this year. The expected harvest date for camelina seeds will be about mid- to late June. In May before camelina flowers and begins to set seed, soybean will be sown in the 30-inch skip rows of the camelina field. We expect to see both crops (camelina and soybeans) growing in the field this summer. The scene of yellow camelina flowers standing out among young, growing soybean plants is a sight to behold.

We plan to organize a field day for farmers and the general public in June of 2019. So stay tuned.

This project is supported by Organic Transition Program (Award# 201751106-27129) from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

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By Yuzhi Li, Lee Johnston, Curt Reese, Joel Tallaksen, West Central Research and Outreach Center, University of Minnesota, Frank Forcella, Russ Gesch, USDA-ARS North Central Soil Conservation Research Lab, Morris, Bill Lazarus, Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, Ryan Cox, Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota,

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2019 Farm Section

The Stevens County Times

Saturday, March 9, 2019 15

The farmer’s share of breakfast Rae Yost/Stevens County Times

Guests eat at a July breakfast created to show how much a farmer receives from the overall cost of the breakfast. Various businesses and farm-related organizations sponsored the breakfast served at the West Central Research and Outreach Center.

Various businesses and farm-related organizations sponsored a breakfast in July served at the West Central Research and Outreach Center designed to show what a farmer makes from the breakfast.

Rae Yost/Stevens County Times

A placemat shows how much a farmer makes from the ingredients served in a traditional breakfast.

Report shows struggles in the agriculture economy

By Rae Yost Stevens County Times Farmers are working on very valuable land but it’s getting tougher to make a living on it, said Kelly Asche, a research associate with the Center for Rural Policy and Development in St. Peter.

“Even if you include government subsidies, farmers are still losing money,” Asche said. “It’s been going on for a few years.”

Yet, Stevens County may be a bit of an oddity, Asche said. “If you look at Stevens County, it’s still doing pretty well,” Asche said. Pretty well means farmers in the county are making $50 per $99 [$50 to $99?] per acre in the county when the cost of production is subtracted from subsidies, marketing and other income received by the farmer, a Center study called the “The State of Rural Minnesota 2019” said.

Asche said there could be various reasons for the economy in Stevens County including farmers being able to adjust to changes in the market and overall industry.

In most Minnesota counties, farmers are making less than $50 per acre or losing money, Asche said.

Those counties include Traverse, Wilkin and Grant in western Minnesota, Asche said.

The impact of tariffs with China and continued low prices will make it tougher for all farmers this year, Asche said.

The struggles in the agriculture community have an impact throughout a region, Asche said.

Farmers will likely be spending less money on implements, things like eating out and other items, Asche said.

The Center prepares a report each year.

The Legislature uses the information as it considers bills and programs that impact the agriculture and rural economies, Asche said.

Rae Yost/Stevens County Times

The fall landscape in rural Stevens County in 2018.

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The Stevens County Times

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National Ag Day, March 14, 2019.

National Ag Week, March 10-16, 2019 is a time to recognize and celebrate the abundance provided by agriculture.

Each American farmer feeds more than 165 people ... a dramatic increase from 25 people in the 1960s. Quite simply, American agriculture is doing more - and doing it better. As the world population soars, there is an even greater demand for the food and fiber produced in the United States.

Join producers, agricultural associations, corporations, government agencies and these businesses across America to recognize the contributions of agriculture.

Source: Agriculture Council of America.

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