Benton Ag Plus - June 1, 2019

SAUK RAPIDS HERALD | SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2019 | Page 1B

Serving rural Benton, Morrison, Mille Lacs and Kanabec counties

BENTON AG Plus

Sauk Rapids Herald

SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2019

An atypical spring Anez Consulting manages cold, wet season

BY DANNA SABOLIK STAFF WRITER

LITTLE FALLS – Cold temperatures and rainy days are not only depressing to those itching to get outside for recreation. In the springtime during planting season, they also give farmers a headache.

Anez Consulting serves a large area of Minnesota out of two locations – Little Falls, and Paynesville. There is no doubt the crops in this part of the state are behind schedule.

In an ideal year, farmers haul manure and prep fields in midApril. Small grains and alfalfa are also planted early to mid-April followed by corn around April 25 to May 10 and soybean May 1 to May 20.

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Wet season page 2B

Hard work pays off Stemper receives FFA proficiency award

BY ELIZABETH HOAG STAFF WRITER

FOLEY – After several years of hard work, Emily Stemper received a first place FFA proficiency award for ag mechanics fabrication and design.

The Foley High School class of 2018 graduate attended the Minnesota State FFA Convention April 28-30 in Minneapolis and walked across stage at the Mariucci Arena on the University of Minnesota campus where she received her award for implementing and continually improving her supervised agricultural experience.

Stemper developed her PHOTOS SUBMITTED skills of woodworking by Emily Stemper stands outside of the Mariucci Arena on the incorporating solar panels University of Minnesota campus April 29 in Minneapolis. Stemper received a first place FFA proficiency award for ag mechanics which could apply toward a future career. fabrication and design.

“When I first found out I

had won the award, I was so happy, I cried,” she said. “I had been working towards this for four years.”

Having placed second at the 2018 convention, Stemper made it her goal to achieve first this year.

Stemper, a freshman at the University of WisconsinLacrosse, is studying clinical lab science to become a physician assistant. She has been involved in the Foley FFA chapter for six years.

“I joined FFA in eighth grade but didn’t really get involved until my freshman year of high school,” Stemper said.

By the middle of her freshman year, Stemper routinely attended chapter meetings and decided to apply for secretary. Serving as secretary her sophomore and junior year, Stemper began her SAE project with the guidance from her father and FFA advisor, Al. “My dad helped me start my project, showed me the ropes and served as my mentor,” Stemper said. “Once I was able to design and work the tools by myself, I crafted the bench and picnic table

Stemper page 3B

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Page 2B | SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2019 | SAUK RAPIDS HERALD

Wet season from front “Usually the lighter irrigated sands go in first followed by the heavier soils, but in a dry spring it can all go at the same time,” said Paul Anez, co-owner and agronomist at Anez Consulting.

Anez said this year is about one month behind in terms of crop progress.

According to a report released May 28 by the

Paul Anez

United States Department of Agriculture, Minnesota is 25% behind last year’s planting progress. Last year at this time, 91% of crops were planted in Minnesota,

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and this year only 66% of plants have been sown.

Progress depends on soil type. Sandier soil, seen throughout Benton County, dries faster than denser soils found to the east and west of the Mississippi River.

“Even the irrigated sands were delayed this year but planted fairly timely, about a week behind schedule,” Anez said. “The heavier dry land fields that contain more clay are at the 50%-55% planted mark which is well behind for this time of year.”

The abrupt end to fall in November prevented many farmers from completing fall tillage and those fields, especially, are holding high a moisture content.

“The worst ground we’re working with is what was planted to corn last

year and didn’t get tilled,” Anez said.

When planting crops for the season, farmers invest money in equipment and technology to ensure accurate planting. They also pick the window that is optimal in regards to soil conditions and weather to make the best possible yield. This year, however, Anez said, in most situations people could not wait for the fields to be perfect.

“It’s ideal to create a nice seed bed for the planter so it will work nicely and a lot of the fields we’re encountering this year are maybe 80% ready to go, but farmers are taking that chance,” Anez said.

This may affect yields in fall.

“If we get a really warm summer, it may not

be as bad but we’re behind already and yields are going to be reduced because of the late planting,” Anez said.

“There’s also the issue of high-moisture corn. We will probably see a lot of situations where the crop won’t reach full maturity.”

Anez said it is especially difficult for farmers with livestock.

“They also need to haul manure, so they need even more dry days to apply that and get planting done,” he said.

Despite the tough start, Anez said the crops he has seen in the past week are exceeding expectations.

“A lot of corn we’ve looked at where corn was planted early is looking good, actually,” he said.

“We were concerned with reduced stands from

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imbibitional chilling at germination. This happens when the first water the seed imbibes is cold: it causes cells to rupture and results in a corkscrewing effect and the plant doesn’t emerge. So far what we’ve seen up is looking good with the worst fields at 10%-15% reduced stand.”

However, Anez is dealing with soil crusting issues. This happens when the fields are worked too wet, followed by heavy rains and 80 to 90 degree heat that bakes the surface.

The soil surface silts over forming a crust that can be difficult for a seedling to push through.

“While [crusting] isn’t wide spread, it is something to be aware of,” Anez said. “Rotary hoeing or irrigation will help break the surface for the plants to push through.”

Seed has taken three weeks to emerge due to the cold weather, but the fact that it is growing is encouraging.

“We’re pleased with what we’ve seen so far, but we haven’t looked at much of the heavier soils,” Anez said. “If the seed is sitting in cold, saturated soil too long there could be a problem. If we have some sun and wind – drying conditions – that will help.”

Anez is hopeful for the remainder of the crop to get planted in the next week.

“The forecast looks good; I think it’s straightening out,” Anez said. “I anticipate a lot of corn and soybeans to be planted this week.

Regardless, there will be a significant amount of prevent plant acres this year. However, we try to turn this into an opportunity to make improvements to the field such as drain tile, lime, (and) using cover crops.”

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SAUK RAPIDS HERALD | SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2019 | Page 3B

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Stemper

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Emily Stemper sits at a picnic table at the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul during the summer of 2017. Stemper, a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, built the table as part of her supervised agricultural experience.

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Emily Stemper works on building a picnic table at her home in Foley during the summer of 2017. Stemper’s supervised agricultural experience focused on solar energy, turning benches and tables into charging stations to recharge devices.

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myself.”

Stemper constructed a bench her sophomore year of high school and by the following year began incorporating solar panels onto the structure.

Stemper applied for the award a second time by providing an outline to her SAE project that included the skills she learned, the income she made and pictures to show her progress.

“My project really focused on using everyday items made from wood, which I was already use to making, and turning them into charging stations to recharge devices,” she said.

The 19-year-old put her project on display at the county fair and used posters to demonstrate how the project operates.

“I made and installed different components such as AC and DC lights, a charge controller and inverter,” she said.

“I developed my project along with my public speaking skills by showing people how it worked.”

By senior year, Stemper was serving as chapter president and started building a large picnic table equipped with an awning.

“My projects got bigger every year,” she said. “I wanted to challenge myself.”

Stemper’s completed picnic table was displayed at the Minnesota State Fair in the Miracle of Birth Center in 2017.

“That has been one of my biggest accomplishments,” she said.

But Stemper’s FFA career has not been without challenges.

“Making the design was difficult because what I designed on paper wasn’t always what it turned out to be,” she said. “The project was hard to visualize at times and sometimes my measurements were wrong, but I was able to fix or work around them.”

Through her SAE project and FFA career, Stemper has been able to learn more about solar energy to share with others. She has also learned life-long skills.

“I’ve learned that if you keep at your project, it will make your SAE grow and look better,” she said. “I encourage other FFA members to

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Page 4B | SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2019 | SAUK RAPIDS HERALD

BENTON AG

during June

Heinen’s

heirloom

Brothers continue dairy farming legacy

BY DANNA SABOLIK STAFF WRITER

ST. JOSEPH – Brothers Peter and Jim Heinen have been milking cows in the same barn as long as they can remember. In fact, the duo’s barn has been in the family for four generations.

“We don’t just have a lot of good memories in the barn; most of our memories are in that barn,” Peter said.

Peter and Jim have been farming together since 1977 and milk 32 Holstein cows in a 133-year-old barn on

an even older farm site near St. Joseph. They are so close to town that the farmstead is surrounded on three sides by housing developments and neighborhoods.

Long before there were houses in the backyard, Peter and Jim’s great-grandfather, Joe Heinen, homesteaded the prairie land in 1863.

“I don’t know where he milked the cows then because they had cows here, but there wasn’t a barn yet,” Jim said.

The brothers also said their uncle had a telescope from World War II that he could

set up in the farmyard and see the clock on the courthouse in St. Cloud 6 miles away.

“It was all prairie back then,” Jim said. “No trees or houses.”

Now, trees and blooming lilac bushes surround their cove on the edge of suburbia.

The foliage grew over time. When the Heinens were young, the brothers remember seeing for miles.

From the top of their two-story barn, the doors could fold down, and as the young boys played in the rafters, they watched neighbors threshing grain

from surrounding fields.

“That’s back when we were too young to help,” Peter said. “But being up in the hay loft is one of my favorite memories.”

Both brothers remember filling the hayloft with loose hay using a pulley system and ropes to hoist the hay up and a track to bring the hay through the barn.

The barn was designed for this type of storage, with cracks between the paneling boards to prevent the hay from getting too moist.

This special building is more than a home for hay and dairy cows, and it

PHOTO BY DANNA SABOLIK

Peter (left) and Jim Heinen milk 32 Holstein cows on their dairy farm near St. Joseph. The Heinens barn was built in 1886 and is still used today.

has housed many animals not housed milking dairy over the years, including cattle. horses and beef cattle.

“My dad got sick in Only two years in the barn’s existence has it Heinens page 5B

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SAUK RAPIDS HERALD | SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2019 | Page 5B

Celebrating our Dairy Producers!

As we celebrate Dairy Month this June, we applaud our nation’s dedicated dairy farm families and the delicious, nutritious products they bring to the table. Thank You!

PHOTOS BY DANNA SABOLIK

Peter and Jim Heinen milk 32 Holstein cows in the barn their great-grandfather, Joe Heinen, built in 1886. The barn has continually housed animals through its 133-year history.

Heinens

building has survived hailstorms, damaging winds and record snowfalls.

A fire in spring 1926 began with a car, caught the garage, spread to the granary and blew onto the barn roof, causing a few holes in the wooden shingles. “They had to get up on the roof with ladders

from page 4B 1975 and sold the milking cows, but we still housed beef cattle in here,� Peter said. “After dad passed away, Jim and I bought dairy cows again.�

In 133 years, the barn has only had a few modifications, and the

“This is the only job I’ve ever had, so, we’re going to keep it going.�

- Peter Heinen

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and use wet gunny sacks to put out the fire,� Peter said.

The Heinens reshingled with asphalt shingles at that time which lasted until 2016 when Peter and Jim added a steel roof. “We had to strip it down to the rafters,� Peter said. “Then they came in and put the new roof on.

It lays pretty nicely for being on an old frame.�

The barn did not have concrete until the 1940s when the electricity and milk house was added.

And, the Heinens used horse until 1943, when their father purchased a tractor from St. Nicholas for $1,000. “It was just one year old, used for road construction for a year and then the owner didn’t want to do road construction anymore so we bought it,� Jim said. “It was like brand new to us.�

Today, the brothers work together to continue their dairy farming lifestyle. Jim milks cows

fnbmilaca.com

and Peter helps with feeding and bedding the animals. “We’re not picky about who does what job,� Jim said. “It doesn’t matter what job we’re doing, we all pitch in to get it done.�

They are hopeful for

the recent increase in milk prices, and have focused on increasing their fat components to make their milk check a little larger. “Our last check I think we finally started to make a little money,�

Jim said about the dairy economy. “I just hope it stays that way; projections look good through the summer.�

They reminisced on stories their dad shared about buying the farm from their grandfather in 1951. “Dad bought 166 acres, the barn full of cows and the house for $9,000,� Peter said. “The dirt ended up being $65 an acre. You couldn’t pay one year’s land rent with that much now.�

The farm has been passed on generation to generation and antiques have come with it. The barn may be old, but the brothers have also found an old wooden well pump, made entirely out of a

single block of wood. “There’s not a piece of steel on it,� Jim said. “Even the plunger is made from the original log.�

The Heinens have a lot of history on their farm and have even found Native American arrowheads in the soil surrounding the farmyard.

Although the barn’s façade has changed, the memories and lessons the Heinens learned there will be special to them forever. “I like being around tractors and cattle,â€? Jim said. “I don’t plan to quit [dairy farming] until I can’t do it anymore.â€?

Peter agreed. “This is the only job I’ve ever had,� he said. “So, we’re going to keep it going.�

Spaces left between wood beams in the hay loft are to ensure the hay stays dry and does not mold. Loose hay was stored here until the 1980s, when Jim and Peter Heinen switched to baled hay.

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Page 6B | SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2019 | SAUK RAPIDS HERALD

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Choose trade not aid No need to worry about China, anything. It is the importers of Chinese because when the trade talks are over goods that pay customs duties which China will purchase even more U.S. farm they offset by charging consumers more. goods than before the trade war began.

A report from the Federal Reserve Bank That is the promise from United States of New York said increased U.S. tariffs on Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.

China will cost the typical U.S. household In announcing the farm aid program, $831 each year. Walmart, along with Perdue said, “President Trump feels what several big retail groups, is already warning they’re (Chinese) trying to do is really of price increases. outlast him and that’s not [going to] work.

While most farmers still support Trump Their economy has hurt a lot more than and are grateful for the financial help, there our agricultural economy.” is also the reality that they have lost one of The program seems pretty well BY ROGER STROM the biggest markets for the crops they just The Business of Farming put in the ground at a time when farm debt thought out with payments to farmers for more than two dozen agricultural is at the highest levels in decades. commodities including grains, oil seeds and specialty American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall sent crops, as well as dairy and pork. a letter to the president telling him there are anecdotal The government will also buy about $1.4 billion reports of farmers, particularly those who are dealing of fresh produce and other foods that will be used to with planting delays due to weather, deciding not to restock food banks, pantries and school meal programs. plant a crop this year because there is no market for There are also plans for a $100 million trade it. He told Trump the tariffs are slashing our exports, promotion program for livestock producers and certain destroying a once-promising market for agriculture. crops to help industry sectors develop new markets.

With the promises of a China deal delayed month Trump told a group of farmers the aid will be paid after month and now a band-aid financial aid package for by the billions of dollars the treasury is taking in to tide them over, there is a lot of justified frustration from tariffs imposed on Chinese goods. He said the in farm country. Not to speak for all farmers, but those amount of money the U.S. government will collect from I have known would be quick to tell you they would those tariffs is far more than the $16 billion that we are rather have trade not aid. Farming is a tough enough. talking about.

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SAUK RAPIDS HERALD | SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2019 | Page 7B

BENTON AG

Whitetails inspire water bank sign-up Bakke enrolls marginal lands in hopes to harbor wildlife

BY ANN WESSEL MINNESOTA BOARD OF WATER AND SOIL RESOURCES

Josh Hanson

one-half mile from the boundary of the Water Bank Program-enrolled land.

According to Minnesota Department of Natural Resources area fisheries supervisor Eric Altena, Lake Sullivan is well-known for walleye, bass, bluegills and crappies. The 1,103acre lake is 57 feet deep at its deepest point. Its 7.7 miles of shoreline is heavily developed.

“Any time we can make improvements on what goes into the lakes or rivers, whether it’s quality or quantity, it all makes a difference in the end,” Altena said.

Wetlands naturally filter silt and any pollutants it may carry.

Bakke’s is one of six Water Bank Program enrollments in Minnesota totaling 1,840 acres. Five of the six are in Morrison County. One enrollment totaling 30 acres is in Polk County. Properties in Minnesota, North

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PIERZ — Deer hunting drew Jason Bakke to Morrison County. He already was managing the 1,500 acres surrounding his house for wildlife when a friend told him about the Natural Resources Conservation Service Water Bank Program.

Through 10-year, nonrenewable contracts, the program preserves and improves major wetland habitats for migratory waterfowl and other wildlife. It also improves water quality, flood control and subsurface moisture while conserving water and reducing erosion.

“The purpose of the Water Bank is to protect sensitive wetland areas,” said Josh Hanson, the Morrison Countybased NRCS district conservationist who worked with Bakke. “We want to try to protect the wetlands from grazing or cropping.”

Bakke once grazed cattle on part of the land he and two partners acquired over 20-plus years. He farmed a patchwork of 12- to 15acre fields there, too.

About 10 years ago, he switched to a feedlotonly operation and moved the cattle 7 miles away. The patchwork of fields — about 90 acres total — was often wet, surrounded by even wetter ground, and difficult to maneuver with large equipment.

Bakke now farms about 300 acres, most of it corn, and feeds 500 to 800 head of beef cattle.

He enrolled 1,434 acres in the Water Bank Program in 2018.

“The cattle can graze it, and I can grow corn on it,” Bakke said. “But, I live here because I want to deer hunt. I have more tillable land down by my feedlot. This is a long ways from there, and the fields are small and chopped up. It works out better as a wildlife conservation area as far as I’m concerned. And I’m sure, in turn, the water is better because of it.”

From Bakke’s house, the wetland stretches to the horizon. It encompasses Mud Lake.

A channel connects Mud Lake to Lake Sullivan, a popular panfishing spot

Dakota and South Dakota are eligible.

In exchange for agreeing to idle the land for 10 years, property owners receive an annual, per acre payment based on the predominant land use. Bakke and his partners share a $35 per acre annual payment based on a predominant pasture use. The 2018 rates were $50 an acre for cropland and $20 an acre for forestland.

Payments can help offset property taxes while taking marginal land out of production.

The Morrison County NRCS office continues to receive applications and will notify landowners when the program is funded.

To be considered for the Water Bank Program, property must appear on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory.

NRCS gives the highest priority to cropland affected by flooding.

Hanson said some Morrison County land was a good fit for the Water Bank Program because it lies in the transition zone between cropland and forestland.

“There’s areas that, since the precipitation went up in the last (several) years, have gotten too wet for grazing or haying,” Hanson said.

“It’s better-suited to being a program where a wetland can do its wetland functions, and it’s not getting degraded.

If you’re grazing through this wet area, the cattle

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Jason Bakke hunts trophy bucks on his Morrison County property. The potential wildlife benefits were among the reasons he enrolled more than 1,400 acres in the Natural Resources Conservation Service Water Bank Program.

start ripping it up and packing it down and destroying the wetland vegetation that is used to filter out sediment.”

Once his 10-year enrollment expires, Bakke said he would investigate what programs were available to benefit wildlife habitat.

He planned to plant food plots on the 11-acre field

he excluded from the Water Bank Program.

Meanwhile, Bakke applied for and received NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program assistance to establish pollinator habitat in most of the scattered fields.

“To me, this place is better off for the wildlife” Bakke said. “I already do

as much as I can for the wildlife here. If I can do a little more and utilize the fields that are here, and it’s all right with these guys (NRCS), then that’s what we’re going to do.

A lot of what I do has revolved around the deer.

But the other wildlife benefits from that also.”

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Page 8B | SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2019 | SAUK RAPIDS HERALD

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Alfalfa Harvest Alert Project: May 21-28 The following are results from May 21-28.

Carver County Drier Farm near Norwood May 20: RFV = 253, RFQ = 280, CP = 22.81% May 24: RFV = 192, RFQ = 209, PEAQ= 200 CP = 20%

McLeod County Krienke near Lester Prairie May 21: RFV = 266, RFQ = 297, PEAQ = 224, CP = 28.39% May 24, RFV = 290, RFQ = 263, PEAQ= 220 CP = 26%

Benton County O&S Dairy near Rice May 21: RFV= 202, RFQ= 237, PEAQ= 224, CP= 20.96% May 23: RFV= 280, RFQ= 308, PEAQ= 205, CP= 25% May 28: RFV= 255, RFQ= 295, PEAQ= 190, CP= 26% Scapanski near Sauk Rapids May 21: RFV= 206, RFQ= 228, PEAQ= 232, CP= 19.90% May 22: RFV= 245, RFQ= 279, PEAQ= 211, CP= 24% May 28: RFV= 282, RFQ= 281, PEAQ= 200, CP= 23% Skroch near Rice May 23: RFV= 260, RFQ= 295, PEAQ= 237, CP= 26% May 28: RFV= 283, RFQ= 316, PEAQ= 217, CP= 27%

Todd County Stelling near Osakis May 28: RFV= 192, RFQ= 252, PEAQ= 214, CP= 21% Lunemann (low lignin) near Clarissa May 28: RFV= 190, RFQ= 243, PEAQ= 217, CP= 21% Lunemann (regular) near Clarissa May 28: RFV= 187, RFQ= 252, PEAQ= 230, CP= 23%

Stearns County Frericks near Melrose May 23: RFV= 219, RFQ= 277, PEAQ= 224, CP= 25% May 28: RFV= 194, RFQ= 244, PEAQ= 205, CP= 22% Gathje near Eden Valley May 23: RFV= 194, RFQ= 260, PEAQ= 225, CP= 26% May 28: RFV= 251, RFQ= 285, PEAQ= 230, CP= 24.80% Maus near Freeport May 23: RFV= 191, RFQ= 233, PEAQ= 237, CP= 23% May 28: RFV= 157, RFQ= 206, PEAQ= 205, CP= 23%

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Wright County Krause near Buffalo May 23: RFV= 208, RFQ= 263, PEAQ= 224, CP= 22% Poppler near Howard Lake May 21: RFV = 268, RFQ = 302, PEAQ = 230, CP = 26.37% May 28: RFV= 192, RFQ= 252, PEAQ= 214, CP= 21%

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Sibley County Belter Dairy near Glencoe May 22: RFV = 234, RFQ = 263, PEAQ = 241, CP = 25% May 28: RFV= 233, RFQ= 266, PEAQ= 228, CP= 24% Annexstad Dairy near St. Peter May 22: RFV = 234, RFQ = 263, PEAQ = 241, CP = 25% May 28: RFV= 224, RFQ= 257, PEAQ= 213, CP= 28%

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After a long Memorial Day weekend, labs and growers were back in business sending samples for the Alfalfa Harvest Alert Project or scissor cut project.

The goal of this project is not to try to name the day you should harvest. Rather, the goal is to encourage growers who are busy with management of other crops to be more strategic with BY ALANNA IVERS University of MN hay crop harvest as it relates Extension Intern to their needs.

Fresh cut samples of alfalfa are collected when height of the stand reaches between 14-16 inches tall. Project cooperators will try to sample at least twice a week usually Monday and Thursday until harvest. Clipped samples are tested to determine relative feed value (RFV), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and other alfalfa quality factors related to harvest decisions. Quality and maturity will also be estimated through an equation called the predictive equation for alfalfa quality (PEAQ). This process uses the stage of maturity and height of the tallest stems to estimate RFV and NDF. You can find more detailed reports at https:// www.blog-crop-news.extension.umn.edu or by calling 320-968-5077 if you are in Stearns, Benton or Morrison counties. If you are outside that area, call extension colleagues Colleen Carlson in Scott and Carver counties, Jason Ertl in Sibley County, Karen Johnson in Meeker and McLeod counties, and Adam Austing in Wright County for more information.

Sponsors of this project include Barry Visser at Vita Plus, Paynesville Cooperative, Total Agribusiness Services, Greg Lefebvre with Nelson Dairy Consultants, Anez Consulting of Little Falls, Rick Tamm at Byron Seeds, UFC, Helena Chemical at Royalton, Compeer Financial, Dairyland Lab at Sauk Rapids, Stearns DHIA Lab at Sauk Centre, KASM 1150 AM Albany, KTLF 960 AM Little Falls, KEYL 1400 AM Long Prairie, and the Central Minnesota Forage Council.

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